Code Geass: Lucian of the Rebellion
by CaioOP1985
Summary: Lucian shouldn't exist. His whole existence is nothing but a lie. But with the power of Geass, he can become more than human, he can become a King.
1. Stage 1: Demon's Begin

Stage 1:

Demon's Begin

**2008 A.T.B**

The kid runs in the woods, desperately, trying to flee from the bad guys. They want him, to the point that they will even kill for it. He doesn't exactly know where he can go, but he needs to do it. "Lucretia-san" he thinks while holding a gold necklace in his hands. Suddenly he stumbles in a rock, falling down the hill.

When he finally stops, he is hearing voices. "They are here", he thought while trying to get up. There's blood in his mouth and he feels an acute pain all over his body, but he can't give up, not after what happened to Lucretia... His legs are shaking, making it hard to be on feet, but he can't give up, he has to run.

A boy appears before him, yelling with someone back him. The wounded one can't understand, but the other boy looks worried. The first fall to the ground, with his face on the earth. His head feels strange, while the flavor of earth and blood cover his mouth. He looks to the sky, but it had turned dark green. "Great, now I'm hallucinating", but, after a second look, it seems that the green was from the other boy's eyes.

-Are you okay- the boy asks in a nervous voice.

-I... I don't... Where am I?

-You will be okay, don't worry about it. Here, use my shoulder.

Using his shoulder to get up, he goes back on his feet. There are a lot of grown-ups going in their direction.

-What ... is your name?- Asks the first boy.

-My name is Suzaku Kururugi, and you are at my house. An who are you?

-My name is ... Lu...cian.

He pass.

**2017 A.T.B**

-Oni-chan, it is time to get up.

-Would you kindly give me five more minutes?

-Speaking like that won't help you. Now get up.

I try as hard as I can to ignore her, but she is a persistent brat that Alice. Would the world end if I stay five more minutes in bed?

-C'mon, your teacher will get mad at you, Oni-chan.-She says while pushing me a little more.

-It's no use then.- She sighs- I will have to use that.

My thoughts are still slow, so when I finally understand what she was going to do, it was too late.

-SPECIAL ALICE KICK.

I fell an excruciating pain at my abdomen, and all the air in my lungs just go away when the kicks me. I cannot breathe when I try to get out of the bed, so I just felt to the wooden floor.

-Your ... little ... BASTARD.- I yell, while I try to get up and choke her.

-It is your own fault, you know?- She says, while doing the cute face. She always does the cute face when I am angry at her.

-I AM GOING TO KILL YOU.

-You know how much any girl at Ashford would pay for that view?- She asks, innocently.

Wondering what she means, I look down, attesting that I am only in my underwear. That's when I heard the sound of a camera and, looking at her, I see that little devil taking photos of me.

-You ... Give me that.-I yell, trying to grab it from her, but she laughs and just avoid me. I go for the left and I grab her hip, throwing her on the bed.

I took the camera from her and, in the process, I ended upon her.

-You know, if someone enters the room, they will think that you are a pedophile that likes little sisters.

-Even if someone shows up, nobody would believe it.

-Why?

-Because it's about you that we are talking about.

-Just to let you know, I am quite popular among the guys at my grade

-Maybe, but not with older guys. Maybe because you are so... undeveloped- I say while looking at her chest.

She covers her little bust (I'm being very generous using that word here), and get out of the bed, furious, making a big noise when she close the door.

-She's just a kid yet- I sigh-But really, they didn't grew an inch.

* * *

-Are you at least listening to what I am saying?

-Hum...?- I took out my eyes from my book and I look up at Rivalz.

-Come on Lucian, you should really listen to what other people say, you know that?

-Sorry Rivalz, I am just spacing a little.

-Frankly, are you sure that you are up for the task?

-Frankly, are you really doubting me?

He just smiles while we enter the parking of a great building. I came here to replace a player in a chess game, whose gamble is very high. Therefore, I should win the game for my "contractor" and by doing so, I will gain a little "tip".

-How much this time?

-I don't really know, but there seven digits on the line.

-That's really a lot.

-So...don't lose okay?

I just smile at him while we enter the room. My "client" looks relieved when he saw me. My movements where quite limited and I couldn't use more than twenty seconds per round. We had twenty minutes for me to finish the game and to get back on school on time.

* * *

-Wow, you beat him in just nine minutes and 47 seconds, a new record.

It was easy, actually. The good thing about being a student is that your opponent always underestimate you. We enter in Rivalz's motorcycle and start to go back.

-But, why did you started with the king?

-If the king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?

-You are a weird guy, you know that?

Suddenly, a truck appears behind us, honking loudly. Rivalz could barely avoid him, and right after that, the truck enters on the left, going down in a construction site and hit in some pipes.

-What in the world just happened?- Rivalz inquire, while he gets out of his motorcycle.

-An accident, maybe?- I reply, looking at the truck. The accident attracts a lot of curious people that just look and take photos, instead of helping the driver. That kind of vision always makes me sick, seeing those parasites laughing at the truck. Before I could give a second thought, I was down there, at the construction site.

-Hey, are you okay?- I inquire when I get near the truck. Unfortunately, I can't get to the door, but I see a ladder on the site of the truck. I climb it, going to the top and I see an open hatch.

-Hey, are you awake in there? Are you hurt?- I ask again, trying to get to the driver's cabinet. Suddenly the truck starts to move, with me on the top. I try to scream to then to stop, but they just don't listen. I fall inside the hatch while the truck is moving.

I fell a pain in my back when I hit the floor. A little dizzy, I stood up and look around. It's a little dark inside and there's some kind of machine in here ,which I don't know its purpose. It looks like something that you could use for storage, but it has a lot of pipes in there, so I am not certain. And there's something that quite resemblance a knightmare.

"Stop the vehicle" I hear suddenly. "Surrender now and you will get a chance to defend yourself in court" Someone says while the sound of gunfire is heard outside the vehicle.

Dammit, this is a terrorist's truck. My options doesn't look good, if I try to get out I could get shot or break my neck. After that nice thought, the door from the front part is open and someone enters the cargo bay.

-Can you enter the subway via the Azabu route?- A girl says while she put out her coat revealing her skinny body. She has a short red hair and is more or less a head lower than me.

-Kallen, Let's use it here.-Someone says from the front.

-Because that would mean a bloodbath- She replies looking angry.

-You are right- while she climb a stair and enter the knightmare(yes it is a knightmare, apparently). I have the feeling that I have seen her before, but I wonder where. I look at the floor and I see a radio, and at that time I see the nightmare using the slash harken of the knightmare through an opening in the door of the body. The next second the knightmare is out, and before I could get out, the doors closed.

-Crap, these guys are real terrorists.- I say while I listen to the sounds of a battle outside. I look at my cell phone, but it doen't have a signal and judging from the darkness and the road surface, we must be driving on the old subway lines, so that means that they are going to the ghettos and it would be dangerous to get out.

There's only one visible way out. I am not a big fan of the militaries, but if I use that radio, I could give then a communication about where I am. Then I remember that I don't have a signal here, so I will have to wait until I can make the call.

* * *

The time passes and suddenly the truck moves abruptly. After that he just stops.

-An accident? Or else...

There was a door on the side of the cargo bay (telling the truth, I haven't noticed it until now) and it opens. Since I am not stupid, I hide myself but no one entered, so I decide to use this chance to climb up that circular thing.

I feel something coming from behind, so I instinctively put my arms to defend my face. I guess that years of self-defense's classes and some ... augmentations help you on these moments. Even so, I fall to the ground, but I came up almost instantly. My opponent seems to be a britannian soldier. He tries another kick, aiming from my abdomen, but I am prepared now, so I grab his leg, do a spin and I throw him on the wall. He stood up faster than expected, assuming a fight position.

-Wait, I am...- Without letting me end, he attacks again, but more carefully, going from the left, but attacking from the right. Old trick that I know. I not only defend myself, but I apply a counterattack at him. The problem is, he defend it. That guy is good, almost as good as an ... old friend of mine.

After that, he finally looks at my face and he just stops there. I use that moment of distraction to go for his face. It is stupid of me to punch a britannian soldier, but he started it in the first place. He doesn't divert from the blow and he goes to the ground.

He goes on his knees and he looks up, looking at me for some time. I assume one defensive position ready for the blow.

-Oni-san?- That would be the last thing that I would expect him to say. I just look at him in shock, while he removes his mask.

After the mask is pulled off, I see two dark green ayes, brown hair and a smile on his face.

-It can't be ... Suzaku?- At this moment, a lot of memories come back to me: two boys running in the rain, using their blankets to make a tend inside home, eating takoyaki at the board of a little lake, being lectured by an old man. All kinds of things that belongs to a life that was in the oblivion.

Nine years ago, Suzaku and his father, Genbu Kururugi, took me at their home and they made me a member of the Kururugi family. So I can say that I have just found my long lost brother.

-You became a britannian soldier?

-Yeah, and what about yo ...

-What are you saying Suza...

I couldn't end my phrase because, at that very moment, the device that was in the truck emitted a bright light and has started to open.

-Watch out!- Suzaku jumps at me, putting his gas proof mask on me.

-What are you doing?

-It is poison gas inside that thing!

-WHAT!? Put your mask right away!

He never listen to me, so he doesn't put his mask on his face, but when we look at the open device, it is not poison gas that we see, it is a girl. She looks at us and she passes out.

* * *

We took her out the truck and put her in the floor. She has long green hair and, I am not sure, yellow eyes and is using some white clothes that prevent her from moving her legs, arms or even speak.

-Answer me Suzaku: poison gas? This girl?- I ask while he tries to free her legs and I free her mouth.

-That is what they told us in the briefing, I swear!

-Stinky monkey- Someone behind us says while a light goes on-Even an honorary britannian doesn't have the authority to do what you have done!

-But sir, I was told that this was poison gas!-Suzaku says while he runs to a man surrounded by soldiers. That man looks like a military officer, at least in the arrogance and in the clothes.

-How dare you question orders!

This is bad. Something to bad that will endanger Suzaku's superiors if it's unleashed.

-However, in reward of your great achievements, I'll be merciful.- He says while pushing a gun from his back- Private Kururugi, take this and execute the terrorist.

-But he isn't a terrorist! He is a civilian who got caught up in this!- Suzaku says, looking at me and the girl.

Your little ... That's an order! Didn't you swear your loyalty to Britannia?

-Yes, but ...- I've got to say that I was very worried about all this situation, it was my life on the line here.-But I can't.

-WHAT!?- The officer says. I am surprised that he said that, so my face shows that feeling.

-I won't do it, sir. I won't shoot a civilian. Not him

- Very well then- The officer says while pointing his gun at Suzaku. In the next second, I hear the sound of a shot, but very stuffy.

-SUZAKU- I yell while my brother falls on the ground. The other soldiers point their guns at me.

-You look like a britannian student, but it seems that this isn't your day.- He says whith a little smile on his face- Secure the girl and, after that, kill the boy.

-Yes, my lord!

I was scared to death, but suddenly the cabin of the truck explodes. The girl had awakened, so we use the explosion to escape. We go trhough a side corridor and we start to run as fast as we can. She had a little difficulty, with her arms pinned. After a while, she falls to the ground.

-What the hell are you?- I ask while catching my breath- This chaos is all your fault isn't it? Apart from that Britannia has... They even killed Suzaku!

The girl just looks at me, quiet. My biggest will is to leave her behind, but if Britannia wants her so bad to the point at killing their own soldiers, she must be important. We go across a lot of paths inside the subway, until we finnaly found a stair to a way that doesn't looks full of soldiers.

-Okay, wait here.- I say while we climb, crouching as much as we can. I hear the sound of a gun and something hitting the ground.

-Report?- Says someone. Wait a second! I know that voice! It's the same officer that killed Suzaku!

-We found only elevens here sir.

-You're sure of it? The exit comes out here?

-Yes sir! It matches up with our map of the old city.

I hear a child's crying, gunshots, then silence. I close my eyes, thinking about all the murder that they must be doing in the ghetto. At that moment, my cell phone rings. I turn it off immediately, but the soldiers had already heard it.

I look up and a gun is pointed at me. I trust my instincts and I punch that gun aside, surprising the soldier, then I apply an attack at his chest, breaking his sternum loudly. While he fights to breath, three more soldiers appear, pointing their guns at me. I run towards the closest one, grabbing his arm and breaking it. After that I jump, do a spin in the air and my feet hits the second one's neck. The third one was more prepared than the others, but I am too fast for him. Using the palm of my right hand, I hit his nose, making a crunching sound.

-That's enough!

I look back and I notice that they got the girl. Because of that distraction the broken-nose guy uses his gun to hit my head launching me on the floor. The officer kicks me and I hit a wall, making a metal sound.

-An appropriate location for a terrorist to meet his end, isn't it?

-You ... scum...

-Still, you did well for a student, taking down three of my soldiers. As expected of a britannian! Unfortunately my clever young man, you have no future.

He points his gun to me. I pick up my old necklace and hold it tightly. It's not that special, just a chain with a gold little frame. I look at him, remembering how I got it.

-Lucretia ... I'm going to see you.

I close my eyes, waiting for my death.

-He musn't die!

I hear a commotion and a shot. I open my eyes and I see the girl in front of me, falling.

-You... you just shot her!- I say, laying down to her body

-Our orders were to bring her back alive, if possible... Well, nothing can be done about that now. We'll just have to tell our superiors that the Royal Guard found the terrorist's hideout and killed then off, but the hostage was already dead when we arrived. What do you think, Schoolboy?

How can this be happening? First Suzaku... and now this girl... I am about to die without having done anything really important. I won't even be mentioned in history books. This can't be... Alice... Emily...

The girl grab my arm, and I start to see lines of light around me.

-You don't want to end here, do you?

-What...?- Everything becomes white.

-You appear to have a reason for living.

-The girl? It can't be!

-If I command you power, could you go on?- I start to see her, multiplied a dozen times in front of me.- I propose a deal. In exchange for power, you must make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you will accept its conditions and while living in the world of humans, you will live like any other. A different providence, a different time, a different life.

Feathers appear before my eyes. I see worlds and things that I thought to be impossible.

-The power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?

I see the back of a man and he speaks something about some "Ragnarok Connection". Then I decide.

-Yes! I hereby accept the terms of your contract!

I rise, feeling different, feeling like a bigger person, like a... King.

-Say, how should a britannian that hates Britannia lives?

-Are you some kind of radical?- He looks at me, pointing his gun. But then he looks a little surprised.

-What's wrong? Why you don't shoot? I'm not just a "Schoolboy"? Or have you finally realize that the ones that will kill are the ones prepared to be killed?

I fell the power of the King through my body, direct in my left eye.

-What's happening here?- The officer and the others are scared at my sudden change.

-I, Lucian vi Britannia command you... Die!

I fell the energy in my body and the soldiers look right at my eyes. He laughs and point his gun at his neck.

-Yes, your Highness.

The other soldiers o the same, all of then with a stupid smile on their faces. The officer yells "Fire" and blood is spill everywhere.

That is the turning point! The very moment when all in my life changes. Until today, I've been living a lie. Even my name was a lie. My personal story, a lie. Nothing but lies. Sick of a world where the strong abuses the weak. Sick of an unchanged world. But I hadn't give up to despair. But now the power is mine. And I already know what to do next.

I smile, knowing that, from this day forward, I will change this world.


	2. Stage 2: The Rise of Two Knights

**Stage 2:**

**The Rise of Two Knights**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

I look down at the floor, right at the girl that gave me that strange power. I don't know why, but she died to protect me and, by doing so, I can finally change the world. For Suzaku's and for Genbu's sakes, I must do it.

At that very moment, an explosion happens besides me. When I turn back, I see one Sutherland, a Britannian's Knightmare. I just look at it, without showing any emotions at all.

"What happened here? And why is a Britannian student doing at a place like this?" I just stare at the knightmare, saying nothing. "Are you dead? Answer me!"

The pilot must be a Noble or a Knight, only they have such arrogant tone. The knightmare shoots on the wall behind me, but I don't show an emotion even with that. I don't need to be scared, not with this power.

"I order you to come out of your Knightmare, now!" I say, using the power.

"And who the hell do you think that you are to order me?"

Looks like that I need direct eye contact to use it. I will just have to make the pilot goes out.

"My name's Allan Spacer, my father is a Duke." I say while raising my hands. "I request military protection from you. My ID card is inside my pocket."

Just as I thought, the cockpit opens and a woman comes out of it. She has a dark skin, silver hair and dresses like a Knight. That's just to easy.

"Hand me your Knightmare." I say using that power on her, but this time, it works. She gives me the key and the code number of it. I just smile and I enter in the Knightmare, leaving her behind. Now I just have to find a way to Clovis and my day is granted. What could really interfere?

_**Suzaku**_

"Having a bad day?"

There's a great pain in my chest and my head hurts a little. I open my eyes and I realize that I am in a bed, most likely in an infirmary. I look to the right and there's a man and a woman standing there. The man uses glasses and white clothes and the woman uses a military uniform.

"Looks like that you missed the chance to go to Heaven, Private Kururugi." The man states while I try to get out of the bed.

"I did...? Where...?"

"We still are at Shinjuku ghetto." The man says.

"With prince Clovis nearby, it's the safest place in all ghetto." The woman says, in a gentle manner. "This is what saved your life, ." She shows me a scarf with a broken watch over it.

I look at the watch, feeling a lot of things from doing so. I still remember the day that I received it. It was a sunny day when Father gave it to me. He also... God, why didn't I remembered sooner?

"Where's Lu..." I start to say, but I remember that duty comes first. "What's the situation on the ghetto?"

"Looks like the poison gas was released and a lot of Elevens causalities have been reported." The man says. "The perpetrators haven't been caught yet." The woman adds.

I stay silent, not sure if I should say that it wasn't poison gas, but a girl instead. Before I could make a decision, the man says:

" , how much experience do you have in piloting a Knightmare?" I look at him, surprised, because no Eleven would ever be allowed to enter a Knightmare. The closest thing that I ever did was a simulation of one, but just for training. As I state that, he pulls a Knightmare's key from his chest pocket.

"What if you could?"

I just look at him, without believing that this is really happening. Me, an Eleven, using a Knightmare? Maybe I am just dead or unconscious. I pick up the key and just stare at it, barely understanding why this was given to me.

"Congratulation! The only Knightmare of its type in the world awaits you! Mount it and you and your world will be surely changed."

"Wheter you want it or not". says the woman. And I have the feeling that this isn't a lie.

_**Lucian**_

I've just called Shirley to confirm if the attack at Shinjuku is on the TV, but it's not. Knowing that, I think that will be difficult for the Britannian Army to call up reinforcements, so they will have to use the pieces that they have on board. I look at the king of a chess game that I found on the middle of the ghetto. I fell anger looking at it, thinking that the owner of the board was probably killed by the army.

"Help me, Father." I say while looking at an old pocket watch that he gave to me when I was ten, the last gift that I received from him before he died. I look at the screen that indicates the location of the enemies Knightmares and I confirm that there's too much of then for a direct attack, even with my augmentations.

Because of those augmentations, handling a Knightmare is rather easy, but the limitations of this Sutherland bothers me. I open the cockpit, trying to think in a way to get close to Clovis when I hear an explosion. It seems that the girl that I saw earlier, the terrorist, is engaged in battle with the Army. Hum... Looks like that I've just found my way to Clovis.

I pick the radio that I got from the truck earlier and I use it to call her:

"The west entrance!" I hear a surprised sound from the radio. "Use the train tracks to go to the west entrance!"

"Who is this?! How do you know this code frequency?!" She replies, angry.

"It doesn't matter who I am. If you want to win, you have no other choice besides trusting me."

"Win?!" She replies, changing her tone. I've just arrive at the right place to set my plan in motion. She goes to the tracks, with two enemies are following her. A train comes through the tracks, in the direction of they.

"Now that you trust me, you will surely win. Now jump on the train!"

She do as I say and the first Knightmare stops the train, and the second one tries to jump on the train too, but I stopped him with my Slash Harken. During the pursuit, I've moved to a collapsed building to attack the enemy.

"Who are you? Whose unit do you belong?" The other Pilot asks, but I jump from the building and I destroy his head with my Stun Tonfa. Apparently, the pilot had time to use the ejection system, so he got away. Well, it doesn't really matter, since I've got what I want. The girl's Glascow appears behind me.

"You saved me, but how did you got a Sutherland?" Before I could reply, some people appear.

"Kallen! What was that radio message before?" One of them asks, a man with black hair and a coat with a star on it.

"I've contacted you, and if you all want to win this battle, you should trust me!" I say, before that girl, Kallen, could respond. "Are you the leader?"

"Yeah, but..."

"The cargo on this train is my gift to you all! There we have the tools for the victory! But you'll only achieve that result if you and your men follow my orders."

"Why we should follow you?" A young man replies to me. He have a short red hair and a goatee of the same color. All the men and women are using the same red band on their heads.

"You can trust him, he's a friend." The girl inside the Glasgow says. After that, all of them looks reluctant, but they agree.

They open the wagon's doors and find exactly what I thought: a lot of Sutherlands and military equipment.

"Woman in the Glasgow!" I say.

"Y-yes!"

"You will be a used as a decoy, understand?"

"Yes!"

"Energy filler status?"

"About 15 minutes left!"

"Then recharge! You leave in ten minutes."

I've got to admit, this is the most dangerous game that I've ever played. If I lost, I die. I can't make any mistakes if I want to succeed. After all of them have entered the Sutherlands and got weapons, all the preparations are ready.

"P-1, can you move?" I ask the leader of them. "The operations basics will be the same of what you are used to.

"Can't you tell us who you are? At least tell us your name!"

A name? I can't tell them my name, in case the transmission is being watched. While I think about that, I look at the chess king in my hand. While I do that, I just think about the perfect name for me.

"I'm Zero, the Black Knight of Justice!"

It is kind of childish to call myself a knight, but I think that this is the best name for me. Anyway, let's just start this whole thing.

"Q-1, if you are in position, enemy Sutherlands will reach you in 23 seconds by now, probably two of them." I say to the girl in the Glasgow. "Shoot them through the wall."

They all fire at the wall, and the two enemies are destroyed. With the terrorist's help, my task becomes quite easy, almost a child's play.

"P-1,P-4,P-7! Move 100 meters to the right and fire your Slash Harkens at three o'clock."

They follow my orders as I destroy the enemy's strategy. With they, I can't lose, I'm unstoppable! Nothing can interfere with my plan.

As I predicted, the enemy have just break the formation, trying to react to my orders, a more stupid move then I expected. If all the preparations made by me are set, this will destroy all the enemy troops at once. Clovis's troops surround the false terrorist signal that I placed, and I call check.

All the area where the enemy was is destroyed. I've sent my troops to the underground and commanded they to use the Slash Harkens to destroy the structure of the subways, burying all the enemies on the ground.

I laugh as my plan works perfectly. Now I just have to get to Clovis and do what I must. Nothing can barely get close to stop me now!

_**Suzaku**_

"Advanced unit Z-01 Lancelot, now activating."

As I put on my new uniform, I can hear the sounds from the outside. Looks like the new model, my own Knightmare will be released soon. I'm nervous with the perspective of using it, but I've read the manual and I think that I did quite well in the simulation, so now it's just to go.

"Hey... Cecile-san?" I ask the woman that was with me when I woke up.

"Yes?"

"About what I asked earlier..."

"Well... It's possible, but the possibility is close to zero."

"But that means there's still a chance, right?"

"I'm afraid so, but don't do anything reckless, the Lancelot don't have an escape mechanism yet." She says, showing real worry about me.

"I got it, Cecile-san." Even if is almost impossible, I must try to find Lucian and that girl. I can't live with the fact that I've just found my brother to just lose him again right away.

The cloth that was covering the new model is removed, so I can see it for the first time. It's amazing! It's white and gold and looks different from any Knightmare that I ever saw! And the most incredible thing: It's my Knightmare!

I can hear the preparations from the launch of the Lancelot, but I can only think of Lucian and the girl. As soon as I get the permission, I start the M.E Boost and the Lancelot is launched.

It's even more amazing than the manual! With this I can... Dammit, my stomach still hurts from that shot, but I can't fall back now. I see an enemy and, before he can even react, I destroy his head with a move of my hand. Another three enemies appear, shooting at me. With the speed of the Lancelot, I can divert quite easily from the shots. I use my Slash Harkens to destroy two of them, and then I kick the other one, destroying them.

I defeat enemy after enemy, without even thinking about it. The fastest way for me to end this is by defeating all the enemy's troops. I see some of them preparing to shot, so I use the Blaze Luminous system to avoid any harm. I destroy the enemies, but more appear every second, so I just keep fighting to stop the fight.

After a while, I see a Knightmare in a building not far away from where I am. I go to the building and I found it there and I engage it in combat. Even with the Lancelot's speed, the enemy stop my attack and he can even do a counterattack. The pilot is better than the others, but I launch my Slash Harkens at it, but just one of them hit the target, chopping the Knightmare's arm. He attacks with the other arm's Stun Tonfa, but he don't hit me, just my shield.

That guy is good! And looking at the distance that he put from the fight, I can assume that he's the leader of the terrorists. If I defeat him, I can end the fight at once!

Suddenly, the floor collapses under us, and we both fall trough the floor In the middle of the air, the Knightmare launches his Slash Harken at me, but he miss. Then I se that he didn't aimed for me, but at the ceiling of the collapsed floor, using the opportunity to escape.

As soon as I reach stable floor, I try to follow him, but another Knightmare appears, a red Glasgow. It tries to punch me, but I grab it hand, then the pilot uses his Slash Harken, but I grab it as well. The pilot uses the ejection system to flee and I can finally pursue the commander.

I am reaching him when he starts to shoot me, but I dodge all the shots. Them, he starts to shot at the buildings, launching wreckage at me, but I easily dodge it all. One of the sensors makes a noise, and I see a woman with a baby in her hands, falling from one of the destroyed buildings. I stop the pursuit and I grab her before it's too late.

After making sure that she is okay, I look for the enemy, but as I expected, he ran away. I don't know why, but I have the feeling that sooner or later, I will confront him again and I hope that, if this happens, I can stop him.

_**Lucian**_

I can believe it! That white Knightmare almost put everything at risk! If it wasn't for my abilities with a Knightmare and his stop to save that woman, I would get caught. Luckily now I can finally get to Clovis and end all of this.

I left the damaged Sutherland in some building and I've disguised myself as a Britannian soldier, so I can avoid unnecessary confrontation. I get to the royal vehicle, but a soldier stops me. I just use my power on him and I enter the vehicle. When I enter the command room, there's a lot of officers with Clovis, so I tell they to get out of the room.

"Cease all fire and destruction against the Japanese. NOW!" I say to Clovis, while I point a gun at him. After he gives the order, he looks at me, frightened.

"What do you want? How did you make my soldiers just abandon me? How did..."

"Clovis la Britannia, you have some serious crimes, don't you?" I say while I get closer to him. "You just ordered the death of many innocent Japanese, just because you wanted to recover your so-called "'poison gas'", and by doing so, I hereby sentence you to death!"

"Show me your face, now!" He demands, as I can almost feel his fear.

"Very well them." I say while I put out my helmet. When it hits the floor and he see my face, the fear can almost be touched.

"It can't be... Lelouch? Why are you here? Why are you doing this?"

"Poor brother, I am not Lelouch."

"What, but who in hell are you!?" I just laugh at him.

"You don't know me, brother but I do know about you." I look at him, laughing even more. "I am Marianne oldest son, Lucian vi Britannia, 11th prince of Brittania and your half-brother."

I look at his surprise face, without saying nothing, just smiling at him. I can't even believe in it, that I'm here with his life at my hands.

"But... Lucian died when he was born... That's what..."

"The Emperor told you? It was a lie! I was too weak to even be considered a heir, so he sent me as a guinea pig to a research facility called "Code-G". There I passed for pain without limits and I've known hell itself." I watch his reaction as I reveal everything. "I escaped and now I'm here, with you at my hands."

"Wait, Lucian, please I can help you! With this we can take the power from the Emperor and you can be the new one. What do you think?"

"Not interested."

"Please, don't kill me!" He screams and he gets on his knees. "I didn't had anything to do with you being sent to this place, I swear! I'm begging you, don't kill me!" He cries, holding my legs while doing so. I kick him away of me.

"Don't ever dare to touch me again! You are nothing more than an insect!" I say, while I point my gun at him. He closes his eyes andgoes to the ground. "But I can't kill you for the Emperor's crimes."

As I lay down my gun, he starts to kiss my feet, saying things like "thank you" and "I owe you".

"However..." I say while I point the gun at his head. "I can't forgive your crime of mass-murder. Sorry brother, but this is the end. This is justice!"

I shot him before he can even react. The bullet goes through his beautiful face and he lies on the floor, dead. I look at his body with satisfaction, thinking that this is the start of the biggest thing that this world as ever saw.

My job here is done. The battle is over, but a bigger war has just begun. I will create a world of justice, for all of the deaths caused by the strongest against the weaker. For this I must become a symbol, a knight of justice.

I must become Zero!


	3. Stage 3: Devil's Announcement

**Stage 3:**

**Devil's announcement**

**2017 A.T.B**

Clovis looks at me, begging for his life as I point my gun to his head. I don't hear the sound of it, but I see the blood. The blood is everywhere, covering all that I can see. I look at Clovis's body, when it becomes the body of my father, Genbu Kururugi. Then it turns to Lucretia, my mother. Suzaku, Alice, Emily, Shirley, Rivalz, every person that I've loved in my whole life. They all disappear and I see one man standing there: Charles zi Britannia, the Emperor of Britannia. He laughs at me while I try to reach him, but I can't reach him. I will make him pay for what he did to me, I will...

"Oni-chan" I open my eyes, sweat covering all my body. I have a wet towel in my forehead and there's someone at my side. I look at the person and I see two amazingly blue eyes, the blue from the ocean.

""Hi Emily, how are you?" I reply to her, without getting out of the bed. She's wearing a white dress that makes her black hair contrasts even more with her semblance, but she is cute as usual. She smiles softly as she notices that I was awaken.

"You had me worried you know?" She says, biting her lip, what makes her even more cuter. " Everyone was worried about you. What happened? You just came home very late days ago, covered in sweat and with a terrible fever!"

"I see... sorry about... Wait, days ago?!" I say while I try to get up. " How long have I been in bed?"

"It's the night of the second day since you collapsed and you have been with a high fever this whole time and you spoke a lot in your sleep."

"What did I spoke?" I asked worried, since I don't know what could have been released from my mouth.

"Not so much, actually. You said my name, as well as Alice, and you said "'oni-san"' a lot too." She looks worried about me, with his eyes showing it.

"I get it." I say while I look around the room and I see Alice sleeping in my reading's seat. She looks very calm and relaxed, very different from when she is awake.

"What is she doing here?"

"She decided to wait for you to wake up, but she felt asleep a hour ago."

"Wait, what time is it?"

"It's... almost midnight." She says, blushing and looking away from me.

"What!? It's past your bedtime!"

"I know, but I was worried about you! You wasn't waking up, and I was thinking the worst, and..." She starts to cry a little, so I just hug her.

"Sorry to make you and Alice worried. This won't happen again, okay?" I state while she hugs me back. "But, now it's time for you to go sleep, okay? I can help you to get in the bed."

"You don't need to do it, I can do it myself."

"Let me repay for making you worried, okay?" I say while I pick her wheelchair from behind and we go to her room. Once there I give to her one of the nightclothes from her wardrobe and I look away while she changes. Once changed, I pick her up and I put her on the bed, covering her with the blanket.

"Oni-chan? Can you stay a little longer?" She asks, quite low. "And can you hold my hand too?"

I smile while I hold her hand firmly. It's warm and soft, something that always made me fell comforted. She smiles and closes her eyes, happy just because I am there. Then she looks at me serious.

"Oni-chan, can any terrorist comes to Ashford Academy?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"Because prince Clovis was murdered two days ago, and I'm worried."

"Don't worry about it okay? They won't get you. I will always protect you."

"I love you, Oni-chan." As she says that, I just can't hold myself and I kiss her cheek softly.

"Me too Emily." After a while I can't hold up and I ask her: "And they get the culprit?"

"I think so. Looks like that it was an Eleven, Suzaku Kururugi."

As she says that, I almost have a heart attack. It can't be! Suzaku can't take the blame for it! I almost get up, but I control myself. She can't know my reaction, she will just get more worried. I stay with her until she sleeps and then I leave the room.

I put Alice at her own bed and she says "Oni-chan, it's school time." That brat! After that, I look for any article regarding Clovis's death and it seems that Suzaku took all the blame for it and he'll be judged in two days, at 09:00 P.M. I have to do something about it, but what can I do... The answer just appear at my head, but I will need help to do it...

"Wake up Lucian!"

I fell something soft hitting my head and I open my eyes just to see Milly Ashford, president of the Student Council of the Ashford Academy, looking angry at me.

"C'mon President, I was dyeing yesterday!"

"Don't even play with it Lulu!" Shirley says at my side. She is the only one allowed to even think of me as "'Lulu"'.

"Yeah, we were very worried about you" Rivalz says. "Even Nina was worried, right Nina?"

"Hum...? Oh, yeah." Nina says from the computer.

Everyone made such a fuss about my return, even the teachers. But I guess that this is normal after you spent two days collapsed with an unaccountable fever. Looks like that I took the murder of Clovis harder than I expected, so that might explain the fever, but I can't say the true reason for it, so I've made up anything about it.

I couldn't sleep that well last night for two reasons: the first one was because I was thinking of a way to save Suzaku and the other is that I slept for almost two entire days, so that's the reason why I couldn't sleep. As the vice-president of the Council, I have to help as I can, but now I can barely get my eyes open.

"man, you sure is a sleepyhead, aren't you?" Milly says while she sighs. "Well, I can forgive you because today we have a new member joining the Council!"

Rivalz already told me about her. Kallen Stradfelt, A sickly young lady from the Stradfelt family. When I heard her name, I remembered the Kallen from Shinjuku, but that was impossible, they couldn't be possibly the same person.

"There she is" Milly states while a girl enters the room. I look at her, and I stand up at the same time, in shock. It's the same girl from the terrorist group. The chances of this are almost anyone, but still... Then I come up with the perfect plan to save Suzaku. I just have to think a little more...

Rivalz appear with a champagne in his hands and when he tries to open it, it goes all over Kallen. And then I have the plan complete.

She's taking a bath at my bathroom. I pick up some clothes from my room for her and i knock the door, saying that I will enter. I enter in there and I left the clothes inside, but when I was leaving she stops me.

"How did you get those clothes that fast?"

" I live in the clubhouse, since my sister Emily can't walk."

"You have a sister?"

"Two in fact: Alice is 16 and Emily is 14 now."

"And your parents?"

"They are all dead, so I've been taking care of they since I was ten."

"That must be tough."

"Not so much, Emily is very quiet and kind, but Alice is more wild and rebel. Do you have any brother or sister?"

"I had a brother, but he's dead now." I can fell some sadness in her voice and I can imagine the reason of her brother's death.

"I see. Well I will leave you now."

As soon as I got out of the room, I pick up one of my cell phone and I call the phone on the Bathroom. She answers quickly, probably doesn't understanding the reason.

"Hello Q-1." I say. I can hear a surprised sound from the other side.

"It can't be... Zero?"

"4:00 P.M tomorrow. The observation deck at the Old Tokyo Tower. Come alone." And before she could answer, I hang up. Now its time for some few arrangements and the preparations for the plan are done.

I'm in front of Tokyo Tower, waiting for her call. I set up a little phone for her inside the tower, so she should call anytime soon. I've also used the service of my client of the gamble of chess from the other day. I've learned about how to use the power better, testing it in different ways. As I expected, she calls me.

I tell her to go to a subway specific line and to wait for orders. I enter in the train, in the last wagon, and I see her and some of the terrorists from the other day. After the train is in movement, I use the power on every passenger in my wagon and tell then to go to the other wagon. Then I call her and she answers quickly.

"What now?" she asks me.

"Face forward and look to your right. What do you see?"

"The britannian's city. It was stolen away from us, built on our sacrifices."

"Now look left."

"I see our city. It was destroyed and sucked dry by Britannia."

"Good answer. Now make your way to the last wagon."

I then give my back to the door where they will enter and wait for they. After a while I can hear the door opening and a surprised sound from her.

"Was it you? On the phone?" She says.

"Do you think this is a trap?" One of the men says to the leader.

"Was you in Shinjuku? You made the cease-fire happens? Are you Zero?"

I wait for the right timing, so I just turn to them when we enter a tunnel. Appearances are everything here. They look right at my mask with shock. I have to admit that it took some time for me to design this uniform, but I think that it's quite good.

"What do you think about my tour at the settlement?"

"A tour?"

"It can't be this joker the same guy from before."

"I want you to have a true appreciation of them. The settlement and the ghetto."

"We know." The leader says. "There's a huge difference between us and them. That's why we are a resistance group."

"You are wrong. Britannia won't fall with terrorism. It's little better than childish nuisance." As I say that, a guy with the goatee steps ahead, looking angry.

"What are you saying? That we are a bunch of kids" Them he attacks me. He moves like a child, so I just thrown him in the floor, and then I put my feet on his chest.

"You should know your enemy. It's not the Britannians, but Britannia itself! It's a war you must win to achieve you objective. Not involving the innocent people! Take up your sword! Fight for justice!"

"It's easier to say than to do. Hiding behind that mask, why should we even trust you?

"She's right! Show your face!"

"Very well, I'll show you. But better than my face, I will show you my real power. If I deliver to you the impossible, them I can count on your trust?"

I put up my cape and my mask, preparing my mind for the task at hand. It's a difficult one and I must bear it. If I succeed, I can start my revolution, but if I lose... better not think about it.

Only Kallen and the leader, Ohgi, agreed to help me, but that's enough. I put Ohgi as our escape route and Kallen is driving our vehicle. It's a replica of Clovis's personal transport, so it should draw the attention of everyone. Kallen stops the vehicle from some distance from the convoy that it's escorting Suzaku.

"You dare to disrespect His Highness personal vehicle? Get out of there, now!"

Fire consumes the part that was covering me, and I am revealed. Surprised sounds can be heard from all the crowd.

"I am... Zero." I say, putting some dramatic effect on it, hearing the reactions of all people. Then we are surrounded by Sutherlands, but I don't move a finger, not showing fear.

"Put off your mask and reveal yourself!" Jeremiah, the convoys leader says to me, but I just snap my fingers and then the cover of the car is gone revealing what was inside him: the "poison gas" container. Most of the people in the crowd won't understand, but I bet that the Army will.

"You intend to shot?" I ask when Jeremiah points his gun at me. "I bet that you know what will happen if you do."

"Fine, what do you demand?" He says while putting down his gun.

"An exchange: this for Kururugi."

"Like hell. He's the murderer of prince Clovis, I can't allow this!"

"There's one problem in this: it's impossible for him to have killed Clovis."

"And why is this?"

"Because the one that killed Clovis was no other than myself." I say it like I was commenting the weather. That's when the crowd goes crazy, speaking and making questions.

"For a single "Eleven" you will save all the Britannians in this place. I find that to be a bargain."

"Kill him! He will pay the price for this disrespect!"

"Careful Jeremiah, you don't wish that everyone knows about Orange, do you?" He shows a surprised face and I use the signal for Kallen to get closer to the convoy. "If I die, it'll all go public. If you don't want it to happen..." I use my power on him. "You will do everything in your power to let us go, Kururugi as well."

I can see that it works, because he orders the release of the prisoner. When I face Suzaku, he can't speak because of something on his neck. Kallen appears and tell me that it's time. I pick a remote control and I press the button of it, releasing the "poison gas". I hear screams from the population and fight from the Knightmares as Jeremiah secures our escape. Then we jump out of the bridge to a web that Ohgi left for us and we fall right at the inside of the escape vehicle, and then we escape, without a single scratch.

I am in a collapsed building with Suzaku. He was relieved from his strains. He looks very wounded, but still at one piece, at least.

"Seens like they treated you very roughly. Now you know how Britannia really is, . Britannia is rotten to the core, so if you truly wish to change that, then join me!"

"It's true that you killed prince Clovis?"

"This is war! Why wouldn't I kill Clovis?"

"And the gas? All those civilians?"

"A mere bluff! No one was harmed!"

"So results are the only thing that matters to you right?" He says, smiling a little.

"Join me! The Britannia you serve is a worthless nation!"

"Maybe that's true, but I think that I can change it from the inside, so I will turn myself in."

"Are you mad? They will find you guilty for sure if you do!"

"If that's my destiny, so be it."

"Don't be an idiot!"

"My brother always says that I am an idiot. I guess that's my weak point." After saying that he turn around going away. " But even so... thanks for everything."

And all that I can do is standing right there, powerless to save my brother. Even with the power of the King, he's to stubborn to let me help him. And I've never felt to Weak as I'm feeling now.


	4. Stage 4: The White King Arrives

**Stage 4:**

**The White King Arrives**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

I finally got home after the Zero incident. It's a little late, but I think they shouldn't be so worried about me, I hope. Suzaku was found innocent after all, so I've just relaxed a little. Now I have to make sure to give Emily and Alice attention for some time and them I can get some sleep.

They weren't that worried after all, but they asked me about the incident involving Suzaku and I said anything to them. Now I've just took a shower and it's time for a good night of sleep...

There's a girl in my room! How could a girl be inside my room? Took me two seconds to realize her long green hair and is yellow eyes. I stop, barely moving when I realize that she is the girl from the ghetto, the dead girl from the ghetto. And the worst part is that SHE'S ONLY ON HER UNDERWEARS, WITH NO BRA!

"Welcome home." She say, like this kind of situation was normal at all. Luckily, she is laying on the bed, so I am not seeing her..."'mounts"'.

"How did...?" The door closes behind me and she continues to read her magazine, without showing any emotions. I just stand here, looking at her, speechless.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! What do you think that is wrong? This whole situation!" I almost yell, barely remembering that I have two little sisters on the other rooms. God, if they see this, this would really end into a mess. "First: you were dead! Second: you are inside my room with my sisters in the same building and, on top of that all, YOU ARE NAKED!"

"I'm not naked, I'm using an underwear." She says while she stands up, but luckily her hair covers the breasts (that are very big, I must say). For instincts, I put off my t-shirt and I throw at her.

"Put it on!"

"Aren't you enjoying this? Any normal male would."

"PUT IT ON RIGHT NOW!"

"Oni-chan, what's wrong with..." Alice enters the room. When she see an almost naked girl holding some of my clothes and me only in pants... well, I have to say that I never saw her that red before. And to make things worst, Emily appears right after her, so she becomes red as well. They just stop there, looking at me and the girl, without a word.

"I... I sorry to interrupt you, Oni-chan." Emily says as red as a tomato, trying to get Alice out of the room. But Alice just looks at me, not moving.

"Well, I guess that every man has desires." She says while she starts to get out of the room, but before she gets out, she look at me and she says "Just don't make any weird noises during the night okay?"

"Wait, I can..." They are out of the room. This will surely have repercussions later, but now that the shit hit the fan, I can only dodge it. I look at the girl, that hasn't said a world about it.

"So... can you at least tell your name? And put some clothes!"

"C.C." She say while she finally put the t-shirt. It doesn't cover her legs, but its much better.

"So, how are you alive?"

"You like your new power?" She changes the subject. It seems that it was really her that gave the power to me.

"Very much, I think. At least it helped me to advance my plan tremendously."

"Plan?"

"My plan to create a world of true justice."

"Do you think that you can do it with this power?"

"I would have done it without the power, so I've only won on the bargain." I say, smiling. "But what are you doing here? The military aren't pursuing you?"

"Not all the military, so it's easy for me to hide. I think that I liked here, so I'm staying." She says while she covers herself with my blanket in my bed.

"Wait just a second! Here?"

"This bed seems to have enough space from both of us."

"And you even expect that I will sleep with you?

"That's what they are thinking, so why not?"

In the end I put a mattress on the floor and she slept in the bed. Now that I have to accept her here, the question is: What in hell am I going to tell my sisters?

It's Saturday, so I've got out of the bed earlier and now I'm doing some breakfast for me and everyone: Alice, Emily, Sayoko, even for that C.C. It's kind of a tradition that its me the one doing it on weekends, So I always get up earlier these days, unlike anyone else. I've spent the whole night thinking about what I am going to say to they about C.C, because everything would soundos stupid, even the truth. So I've made my decision about it.

"Good day" C.C appears, using some of my clothes.

"Good day." I look at her and I start to make some questions. "What is this power?"

"It goes by the name of Geass."

"Just this?"

"Yes."

"Nothing else?"

"It's different from each person."

"There are other user?"

"Yes."

"Anything to add?"

"No."

This girls was really starting to annoy me, but before I could tell her something, they all enter in the dining room, so I have to keep quiet. It's a simple breakfast, but I have to say that my cooking skills are quite good. Anyway, it is time for the truth.

"Help me to get those plates on the desk and play along." She nods, agreeing. And as I imagined, they all seem surprised with the presence of the new girl. I sit on my usual place and I look at my sisters and Sayoko, preparing myself.

"So... this is..." I should have thought about her name!

"C.C." Idiot! Don't use your name!

"Yeah, C.C and she's my..."

"Wife" Stop this!

"No you are not! You are my..."

"Just because you refused my proposal, it doesn't mean that I am not" Your bitch!

"But we aren't married! You are..."

"Your fiancée?" Sayoko finish it. Can someone let me finish any sentence?

"This suits more the situation, don't you think darling?" She says while she holds my arm and I swear to God that I will kill her. But before I could say anything, Alice stands up.

"I see. so you are our sister now?" Wait a second here!

"I've always wanted a sister as beautiful as you, C.C." Emily says. What kind of reaction is that?

"Welcome to the family, C.C" Sayoko ends.

I've got to say that I wasn't expecting this reaction from they, but the situation didn't happened as I predicted, but I think that, at least, the biggest problem is solved.

"So, how big it is? And how good he is?" Alice asks C.C without even thinking. Emily goes red and Sayoko just smile, while I enter in red alert. How can she asks something like that in front of Emily?

"The size is satisfactory and he does really well." DON'T ANSWER HER!

I'm tired of all the agitation of the morning. These two went to school and Sayoko had gone shopping, so is calm now. I have skipped the morning classes to look for some information that would help me. As for C.C...

"What is Orange?"

"What?"

"I asked why Orange?" She's at my bed with a pizza and some magazines where Zero appears. She's using one of my school's shirts, so that's fine.

"I was eating an orange when I planned that part."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Thanks Lulu." I look ugly at her. "What?"

"Don't call me that!"

"Aren't we fiancées? We should have cute nicknames."

"And what would be your "'cute"' nickname? C?

"Darling, Little Bunny, Cure..."

"Pizza Girl." I say looking back at the monitor.

"That's okay for me." She says, but then she continues "Everyone on Earth is looking for you now, so are you happy now?"

"This is just the beginning. I've got a lot more planned." I say while I put the rest of my uniform. "This world has a lot more chaos to see before it ends." And after saying that I left the room.

_**Suzaku**_

I walk through the streets of the settlement, barely believing that I was found innocent, and all because of Zero. Looks like I owe him even more than before. Lloyd and Cecile told me to go wait for they in the park, so I am just going there. I have a lot of bandages around my body, all because of Britannia interrogation, but I'm fine now.

"Out of the way!" I hear someone screaming above me and when I look up, there's a girl coming down at my direction. Surprised, I can barely pick her up before she hits the ground.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"I'm truly sorry, I wasn't aware that someone was down here."

"Don't worry, I wasn't expecting that a girl would fall from..."

"I'm going now, Euphie!"

"Wait! Nunna, don't" When I look up, there's another girl falling from the sky. For God's sake, what is happening here? Thanks to some divine force, I was able to catch her.

"Thank you, you are very kind." She purple eyes and a beautiful face and looks like a 14 or 15 years old girl. The first one looks older, has a long pink hair and purple eyes as well, so they must be sisters.

"There's something wrong?" I ask, looking at they. The older one responds.

"Yes, there is! Bad guys are chasing us, so could you help us?"

It ended up with us in the park that I made my plans with Lloyd and Cecile, but much earlier than I expected. The little one looks at everything with a smile, while the older has a curious look.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't introduced myself. I'm... Euphie, and that little girl is my little sister, Nunna."

"It's a pleasure, my name is..."

"You don't need to introduce yourself, you are very famous, you know?" She says with a smile. "The son of the former Prime Minister of Japan, Genbu Kururugi."

"Not the only one..."

"What?"

"Nothing." I look at her with a serious face. "You were lying before, right? No one is after you two." Before she could reply, We hear a sound of a cat and we look at it. We see Nunna "talking" with a little cat there. It has some blood in his paw and Nunna has a worried look. After some seconds she brought the cat to us.

"Look Euphie Onee-sama, a little kitty. He has hurt his paw!"

"Poor dear." Euphie says, while she pass her hand on his head. I smile and I try to do it, but the cat just bite me strongly.

We bought some medicine and Nunna made a curative for him, so now he's okay, but he ran away. I love cats, but they don't seem to be attracted to me as well. I've joined the two sisters a little more and I guided they thought the city. But Euphie made a strange request: she wanted to see Shinjuku ghetto.

We got here now and the sisters look at the destroyed city and to some hand-made graves. They all make me remember my father and my brother, even more now that I've just lost him again. But I still have hope about finding him again.

We hear some students disrespecting a statue besides us and doing stupid things. After a while some Japanese guys appear and start to argue with them. I go there to stop the fight, but one of the Japanese attacks me, but I put him to the ground. After they are gone,one of the Britannian student asks me why didn't I've killed a mere "'Eleven"' and he treat me very bad. Suddenly, Euphie slaps one guy and Nunna kicks the legs of the other.

"Don't ever say something like that to this man again, do you understand?" Euphie says to they.

"I won't forgive you if you do!" Nunna complements.

After they are gone, I look at the statue that they were disrespecting.

"Is it good to be strong? Is it bad to be weak? Back them, when I was 10, the world seems to be such a sad place, a world without any hope at all. Starvation, disease, filth, decay, racism, constant war an terrorism. The unending cycle of hate, the rats running wild. The cycle must end and someone must start that end. Of course, it would be impossible to make all bad things go away. I'm not that arrogant, but no one should lose more of the people they love. I want at least a world without war."

"And to have such an utopia, how would you do it?" Euphie asks.

"I don't know, but I will try until the very end. I have to." I look at my watch, remembering Lucian and father. "But someone have to start. For my father and my brother!"

"That's very touching, you know?" A voice speaks from behind and a lot of soldiers surrounds me. When I look back, I see the impossible: Lucian is leading the soldiers! How could this be? He makes a signal and the soldiers starts to hit me with their guns.

"This is for you to learn how to respect true royalty, you filthy Eleven." I don't understand, how Lucian is doing this, and why?

"Stop, Oni-sama! Suzaku is a nice person!" Wait, Oni-sama?

"This man deserves it for being disrespectful towards you two!"

"Stop right now those attacks, Lelouch!" Then I understand, this isn't Lucian, but his twin brother, Lelouch vi Britannia!

"Hum... Very well." He makes a signal and the soldiers stop. I try to get up, but I am still feeling a lot of pain, what makes it harder.

"You are lucky that my sister is quite generous today, Eleven!"

"Stop it! I, Euphemia li Britannia, demand you to stop right now!"

What? Euphie is... a princess?Wait, if she's a princess then...Nunna is one too?

"And I, Nunnaly vi Britannia, demand as well!" Oh God, I was with not only one, but two princesses? I fall on my knees and I put my head on the floor.

"Forgive my princesses! I had no idea who you were!" I don't look up, but I feel something soft in my head. When I finally look up, Nunnaly is passing her hands on my head.

"Are you hurt Suzaku?" She is worried about me!

"Nunnaly, he is just..."

"Shut up, Lelouch!" Euphemia says. Then she looks at me and she offers her hand, but I refuse. I stand up and I look at Lelouch. Even when we met again in Shinjuku, Lucian still had a kind look on his face and when we were just childs, he was always worried about my health and happiness. But that man have none of this. He just look down at me, like a was no more than a rat. The worst part is this face, Lucian's face.

"Thanks for everything, your Highness, but I should be on my way." As I say that, I start to go away, but Nunnaly grabs me, as well as Euphemia.

"Suzaku, I lost our brother as well! So would you let me help you on your quest?" I look at her, without believing that this is happening. I just go on my knees.

"Yes your Highness! I don't deserve such kind words!"

_**Lucian**_

I've just took a bath, trying to relax a little. C.C ran around the campus all day, so I had to pursue her every second. Now she's at the living room, with my sisters, watching TV. Now that they know each other, they are getting along pretty well. It seems that they already consider her from the family.

"Oni-chan, look!" Emily points the TV. "They are going to announce the new viceroy!"

"Who do you think that will be?"

"I don't know, but I hope that the new one would be as good as Prince Clovis."

At this very moment, the new viceroy appears, and I stop, shocked. It is a woman with dark black hair and purple eyes. My eyes.

The new viceroy is Marianne vi Britannia!

And she brought her own son, Lelouch vi Britannia, to be the sub-viceroy, along with his sister, Nunnaly vi Britannia. Marianne's personal knight, Cornelia li Britannia and her sister, Euphemia li Britannia are here as well.

My '"mother"' and four of my brothers came right at my hands. This couldn't be any better. Now this game has just gone into an interesting direction. Now the games are really beginning.


	5. Stage 5: Knight's Alliance

**Stage 5:**

**Knight's Alliance**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

I don't believe that I am standing here of all places. Thanks to Euphemia-sama, I guess. Now that it began, let's at least go forward with this. I enter the room with the teacher, while he looks at me like I am some piece of garbage. I look at the confused students when I see him. Lucian is alive! Thank goodness he is alive! I was so worried.

"I'll be joining the student body here at Ashford Academy." I take a little breath. "My name's Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Everyone looks at me with a surprised and scared face, like I am some kind of monster that just entered through the door to kill them. That must be what they really are thinking. I look at Lucian, but he shows no reaction at all, looking out at the window with a bored face. At least he didn't looked displeased by my presence, unlike the others.

* * *

The class ends and I can hear everyone whispering about me. That must be the event of the year: the terrorist accused of killing Prince Clovis is now alongside them. Lucian get up and starts to leave the classroom, but he don't even looks at me when he passes at my side. I am a little sad about that, but I understand, it would be really strange if a Britannian students knows a Eleven.

I look at him when he reaches the door and he put his hand on his collar. For a normal person, that would mean nothing, but for me that means only one thing. And as I suspected, I find him at the rooftop of the building.

"You still remember those things?" I inquire him.

"That used to be our signal to meet on the roof. If I remember correctly, we also used to have something to start the operation "'Kitchen Hunter", right?"

"Itch your head with three fingers." I replies, but when I look at him, I can hold it any longer and I just embrace him. "I was worried about you, you idiot!"

He doesn't say anything, but he embraces me as well. When we finnaly get separate, I look at him and I see my brother, Lucian Kururugi, the adopted son of the former prime minister Genbu Kururugi. He is so different from Lelouch that I can't even compare those two. Lucian has a kind look on his face and he doesn't have that evil inside him. I do a relieved face, and he notices.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Dammit, I can't lie to him like that! "I've met your brother...Lelouch."

"As far as I remember, I only have one brother and he's standing in front of me."

That makes me very happy. Not just because of the commentary, but that he hasn't changed at all in seven years. He still thinks of me as his brother, and father as his own. After that thought, I remember something.

"What about that girl, from the capsule?"

"I don't really know, we got separated during the attack. But I'm really glad that you hadn't died." After that he looks at the sky, thinking a little. He always does this when he is thinking something serious. He must be worried about the girl, he is so gentle.

"Anyway, do I still call you Lucian?"

"Yes, but I have to use the surname Lamperouge now." He says with a strange face. He mustn't like to neglect the Kururugi's name. "And you? How did you get here?"

"Well... someone arranged a fair investigation, with the condition that I enroll school. But I never thought that we would go that same school. What are the chances, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, Oni-san." As he calls me that, I know that I can finally start to get back to the old days, when we were just two children playing in an old shrine. Now, I can see a blink of hope in the future.

_**Lelouch**_

I am looking at the ceiling of the room prepared for me in this Area. As sub-viceroy, I have such a large room, but it is a little out of my tastes. I hear something at my side and I see one of the girls waking up. They are just Elevens, but they were quite tasty and refined, so it was satisfactory, at the very least.

I get out of the bed, looking at the clock. It is a little late, but I think that it's okay. I put up my clothes and I get out of the room, saying to the Elevens that their job is done. After walking a while, someone stops me in the corridor from behind. Who would even dare to touch me without my...

My mother is looking at me, with a smile in his face, but her eyes are a little sad. She always gives me sermons about my behavior, but I really never cared.

"You really shouldn't bring those girls inside here. Your sisters live here as well."

"As long that they don't see they, it's fine, don't you think?"

"Lelouch, even if you are a royal prince of Britannia, you can't have such behavior!"

"Come on, mother! They are just some Elevens! And you can't blame that a young man have desires, do you?" She sighs, but she looks at me again.

"You were absent at the mourning meeting as well. How can you explain that?"

"My alarm clock doesn't ringed."

"That's it, Lelouch?"

"It's so good that you understood." And after saying that, I just leave her there.

_**Lucian**_

I am in the dining room, waiting for my sisters. I want to present Suzaku to they today, since he is my brother as well. I am a little nervous, but I think that it would be okay. They enter the room and I stand up.

"Listen, I have someone that I want to show to you all." And after saying that, I sign him to enter the room. As I expected, they are surprised that a "'terrorist"' is here. "This is Suzaku Kururugi, my long lost..."

"Friend." Suzaku says before I could end my sentence. I look at him, but he signs with his eyes that would be worst to tell the truth. I can understand his reservation about it, but I still fell a felling of shame to hide the truth. I have to win this war, for Suzaku's sake and for all the people from Japan.

"Nice to meet you, Suzaku-san."

"If you are a friend of Oni-chan, it's okay."

What a relief! They accept Suzaku as he was a member of the family already. I say to Sayoko to prepare a dinner for four people. As we were eating, Emily and Alice started to ask questions to Suzaku about our past together. He tried his best to don't slip over that we are brothers, but he did it. After the dinner, we all sit in the table, drinking tea together.

"So, this is your friend?"

That woman! What does he think that she is doing? C.C is here in the dining room, wearing a school uniform. If Suzaku recognizes her, it would be a disaster. He looks at her, with a surprised face, but not the one that I predicted.

"Who are you?"

God be blessed! He don't recognizes her!

"I am C.C, Lucian's fiancée."

"Wait, WHAT!?"

He looks at me really surprised this time. I have to admit that I am relieved that he is surprised by that and not by the fact that she is the girl from the ghetto. I try to explain to him all that and he understand it (even if the whole situation is absurd).

* * *

After a long time I go with him to the door as he leaves. It was a very pleasure dinner and I want to have more of them. As I state this to him, he suddenly looks serious.

"I don't think that we should."

"Why not?"

"I am Japanese and it might create trouble for you and your sisters."

"Our sisters. Just because I am lying to they about you doesn't mean that they aren't your sisters as well."

"Thanks, oni-san." He sighs a little. "I will try to come over sometimes, but I really think that we should avoid contact at least in school."

After saying this and a goodbye to me, he goes away. It pains me to do it, but I have to pretend that I don't know Suzaku at school. I wish that I could somehow make everyone accomplish him.

* * *

"Okay guys, now we can start our self-defense class."

We are at Physical Education class, having another one of those "self-defense" classes. This class is always boring, since I always defeat everyone so easily, even the teacher. I guess that having Tohdoh and Myagi as my senseis when I was a child helped a little.

"Lucian, come front."

"Yes teacher."

"Don't make such an uninterested face! Today is the day that I will beat you!"

"Isn't usually the student that says that, not the teacher?"

He attacks me straight, aiming for my face, but I just go back to avoid it. He tries to kick my stomach, but I go to the side to avoid it again. He looks at me angry, since I am not serious, but he is slow, easy to read and only relies on physical strength to attack.

"Go Lucian!"

I look at who yelled and I see Milly, Shirley and Nina in the volleyball fiel. They seem to be playing it and Milly is waiving at me. As I avoid another blow from the teacher, I wave back at them, smiling.

"An opening!"

The teacher gets close, but I pick his arm and I put him on the floor, defenseless. All the students applaud as they see my victory. I still think that they shouldn't do it after 28 victories and no loses, but they do it anyway. As they applaud, I see someone running away from the boy's changing room and after a further inspection, it is Suzaku. His clothes were humid and he was breathing heavily. He stops near the other students, trying to catch his breath.

"What does you are so late, Kururugi?"

"Sorry sir! It seems that someone... did something to my clothes, so I had to wash them."

"This is no excuse to be late to your class! I guess that it is expected of a filthy Eleven!"

He is angry about his defeat and he is using Suzaku to blow off his steam. Right at this moment all I want to do is to beat this guy, put him on his knees and make him apologize to Suzaku. I can also hear some guys laughing behind me and I bet that they were the ones that made Suzaku late.

"Sorry sir! It won't happen again."

I look at him, speechless and he looks back and I can see in his eyes to let it go, even if I don't want to. This guy wants to face it all alone, but I can't do that with him. There's got to be a way to make everyone look at him differently, but how? As I think, an idea comes up inside my mind.

"Teacher, I would like to fight Suzaku, if it is okay."

"Teach that Eleven a lesson."

Suzaku was confused by that, but I send him a signal that we used to have when we were children, an oval form with the thumb and the index finger, which means to play along with it. He understand it and we prepare ourselves to fight as everyone was saying to me to finish him and to show him his right place.

He attacks first with a jump and a spinning attack with his leg, the same movement that he used in Shinjuku. I barely avoid it and, before I could counterattack, he uses the palm of his hand to hit my chest, but I use my own palm to redirect his attack and I jump away from him. He looks at me, serious, and I am glad to say that everyone have shut their mouths.

This time I start the assault, aiming a punch for his face, but he dodges it with some difficulty. He grabs my arm and he tries to throw me on the floor, but as soon as he grabs it I use my right leg to make one of his own legs to left the floor, destabilizing his posture. I simply push him, making him falling on the floor and everyone starts to say bad things at him, even the teacher.

He rolls and he prepares to attack again, aiming at my face with the palm of his hand, but this time I don't try to avoid it and I fell a big pain at my face as I go to the ground. I look up to his surprised face and I blink at him, showing that I am okay.

"Your dawn Number! How dare you to punch a Britannian?"

All the other students start to say something like that to him and they all come in his direction, even the girls who were playing volley. Before I could get up, one of the guys punches Suzaku on the face, but he doesn't defend himself against the crowd. Before I could even give it a second thought I grab the guy that delivered the blow, put him on the ground And I start to make pressure in his arm, almost breaking it.

"What are you doing Lucian?!"

"You won't punch him again, are you listening to me?"

"He's just an Eleven, why would you... AAAHHHH!"

"I asked if you are listening to me, not his nationality."

"That's enough Lucian."

I look at Suzaku as he says it and at the guy on the ground. He is crying like a baby as I almost break his arm. I stood up and he continues to cry laying on the floor. Everyone is looking at me with a shocked face, since anyone has ever saw me like that before.

"Now listen to me: if anyone has a problem with this man being a Japanese, state it out loud now."

They lock at me even more shocked about me using that word, but no one says anything, probably fearing what I might do.

"Lucian, what are you..."

"This man is my best friend and a better person that any of you might be, even if you all try your whole pathetic life! And if any person here and in the whole academy try to harm him, I will have a "'talk"' with that person, do you all understand?"

They are all silent, specially the Student Council, with my reaction towards Suzaku. I grab his arm and I start to drag him with me until we reach the rooftop.

"That was really stupid, you know about that, right?"

"It was funny to make that guy cry like a little girl."

"This is serious Lucian! They will pick you up for that."

"Do I look that I care? They are just a bunch of chickens anyway, so I don't need to worry about. You can rest in peace."

* * *

The next two days pass with some incidents as every person in school hear the story. I was called to the chairman's room to explain myself and all the teachers were being cold at me. Even the Council was treating me different from before, avoiding to look at me, so Suzaku was the only one that still talks to me. He had a worried look all day, but he didn't said anything to me.

This is the third day since that class and I am eating my lunch with him at the rooftop, the only place that we can be alone now. Suzaku is silent, just eating his food with a sad look in his face.

"This can't go on. I can't let they treat you like that just because..."

"I don't care about all that."

"Listen, even your friends from the Student Council don't talk to you anymore."

"If they don't want to accomplish you, I will have to leave the council and enter another club instead."

"Every club will be the same."

"I'll have to create a new club instead."

"Who would join it and what club would be?"

"You, me and a new cooking club."

"What?"

"We would have to cook and create new recipes, but I think that it's okay."

He just stare at me and we start to laugh together. While we were laughing, Suzaku scream in pain and I see a cat biting his hand.

"C'mon Arthur, don't be so mean!"

"Arthur?"

"It's a cat that I found the other day and I took him here, but he don't seems to like me that much."

"Like every other cat in the planet. Remember that time when some cats attacked you while you were in the hot tube and you had to run naked across the shrine?"

"Don't make me remember that one."

We hear gunshots at the school's ground. From the rooftop we see a bunch of persons invading the school with trucks and two Glascows among they. We look shocked as they start to block the main entrance of the school and to get every student in sight. The sound system of the school suddenly starts to operate.

"We are taking this school hostage from the time being. Any student or staff that tries to fight back will be eliminated at sight. If no one do it, you all have my word that no one will be harmed."

I look at them while Suzaku pick up some communicator from his pocket. He starts to inquire about the situation that was happening, showing a serious face.

"They seem to be a terrorist group called "Rise of Japan" and the army didn't expected this. Looks like they plan to hold the school hostage in exchange for some arrested members."

"How does the army knows that?"

"They've just sent a video telling their claims to the army."

"What the army is going to do?"

"They are going to surround the school, but the terrorists are making hostages from the people inside the school."

I look down as I see all the students were going to the gym. It makes sense to gather they all inside there, since it is the only place big enough to hold everyone. I sense something and I just grab Suzaku and we both go to the floor, with a bullet passing right from where I was a second ago. I look at the door and I see two men there, holding rifles.

"Looks like we found some Britannian dogs here."

"Wait, that one is that Kururugi guy, the one that was almost convict by killing Clovis."

They make us put our hands in our heads as they approach and when they get close enough, I kick one of them in the stomach and taking advantage of that, I put pressure on a special point in his neck, making him to lose his consciousness. Suzaku grabs the other guy's gun, hit his nose with it, do a spin and hit the guy's head with his own gun.

"What are we going to do?" Suzaku asks as he use a ripped t-shirt from one of the guys to tie them together.

"I have a plan to free everyone, but it will be difficult to do, so I will need your help."

"Shouldn't we ask the help of the army?"

"If the army steps inside the school in the wrong time, the terrorists will kill the students, and we can't allow that."

"What's the plan?"

_**Kallen**_

What a great day to come to school! Now I am stuck here as a hostage alongside those Britannians without any hope of help, at least not for now. I look at the guys that re pointing their guns at everyone and all that I see are a bunch of cowards that use hostages to get what they want.

Nina is hugging Milly, who is desperate, and Lucian's sisters are holding both Shirley's hands. Lucian is nowhere to be seem, alongside with Kururugi. Rivalz is trying to comfort Milly and Nina, but without saying anything. One of the terrorists approach us and Nina cries out loud.

"Oh, the little Brit is scared of the bad guy?" He says while he looks at her and he touches her face, scaring him even more.

"Stop it your jerk!" I scream at her.

"What do we have here. You are quite the beauty, aren't you?" He says while he touches my face too. I send his hand away with a slap and he looks angry. "Seems like I will have to teach you some manners."

He pick me and throw me far from the others, picking up a knife from his chest pocket. He holds me on the ground and he rips my uniform, leaving me only with my bra and my skirt.

"Look at this now." He laughs, but I deliver to him a poke in his balls with my elbow. It wasn't strong enough to make him fall, but he felt some pain. He grabs me and put my face on the ground and he ties up my hands, so I am defenseless.

"What are you going to do?" I can hear someone talking to this guy.

"That bitch deserves it boss, so I'll teach her the felling to be fucked a little."

"Humph, do as you wish."

"Thanks." He approaches my head and he whisper in my ear as he open his pant's zip. "That will be my personal revenge against your, Britannian!"

All that I can see is the Student Council looking right at me, scared as hell. Rivalz get up, only to be beaten by the rest of the terrorists. I can't believe that this is going to happen to me. To be rapped by a Japanese that thinks that I am a Britannian. What a sick irony.

"To all terrorists, hear what I have to say." Someone says from the sound system. "Stop all animosities or there will be consequences."

"What is that? I thought that we had the sound room taken." The leader tries to speak through the radio. "Hey, what's your status? Do you copy?"

Suddenly, a pink smoke appears and engulfs all the terrorists and the students and I try to escape, but that rapist is holding me tightly. As the smoke wears down all the terrorists scream at once surprised with something, even the guy that was holding me. I look at where they are pointing their guns and I see Lucian holding the leader of them. He is using a brown cape that covers his whole body, dark glasses and has his arm around the terrorist's neck.

"Who are you? A military?"

"A student from the academy."

"If you don't release him, we'll kill you for real!"

"I doubt it." As he says that, his cape falls to the ground, revealing something attached to his body. "As you can see, I came prepared."

"This is... an explosive?"

"Precisely. And it's connected to my hearth beat, so if you try something funny, it'll blow the entire building away."

"But...you'll kill all the students!"

"And the terrorists as well."

That guy can't be serious, can't he? It's impossible for him to have access to this kind of thing! But, if it's true he can kill everyone in this place alongside the terrorists. The worst part is that his face shows that he will do it if anyone shoots him.

"My only demand is for you all to hold still and to wait just 60 seconds."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

As those seconds pass, no one is moving a muscle. The minute pass and all the terrorists points their guns at Lucian, telling him to release the leader. Lucian picks up something and he press a button on it, making a red light appears in the bomb. It makes a sound and I close my eyes, waiting for my death. I can't believe that this guy would kill himself and all the other students, including his sisters!

_**Suzaku**_

I am using some glasses that Lucian gave to me to protect my eyes from a strong light, two batons used for self-defense and I am also waiting in a corridor for his signal. He says to the terrorists to hold still for 60 seconds, so I need to prepare myself. I can't believe that he made such a good plan in such a short time.

Basically, we went to the chemistry lab and he prepared some "weapons" for us: two liquids that when mixed would form a pink smoke and something that, in the presence of a spark, would produce just a strong light, blinding temporally everyone. He created a "bomb" to incinerate the second substance and gave me those batons and used my headset to contact the army, saying to they to attack the terrorists outside the building 120 seconds after a signal that I would sent to they. I have sent the signal when he made his demand. That means that we will have 60 seconds to deal with the terrorists inside the building. I can count ten of they, as the majority of their forces are outside of the building.

Lucian pulls the trigger and the whole place is filled with light, but since I am wearing those glasses, that don't bother me. Running, I hit the head of one terrorist, knocking him down and I kick the next one in the back, using the batons to finish him off. Lucian presses some point in the leader's neck and he is now unconscious (he needs to teach me that, it is very useful). After that, he goes toward the next one, kicking his knee and breaking it in the process, while I use the two batons to break a nose and a shoulder, putting the guy to sleep. I see that one guy was going to shoot randomly, so I throw one baton at his face, knocking him down and I sense one of them at my back, but I use my elbow to hit his face and the baton in his stomach. Lucian uses a movement that breaks the sternum of guy, making it hard for him to breath properly, and he uses the baton that I throw earlier to knock another guy down.

The only one left is the terrorist that almost raped Kallen, but Lucian took care of him, picking his head and hitting it so strong in the floor that it makes a really loud sound. After that, we can hear a fight outside, so we just finished them off in the right time.

Almost all the students are recovered from the light and they just look at Lucian and me with a surprised look on their faces. Lucian approaches Kallen and he free her with a knife, giving her his jacket for her to wear.

"Here Kallen, it's over now." He looks at her with gentle eyes. "They can't hurt you right now."

"You... you were going..."

"I would never hurt any student of Ashford."

As he says that, Kallen hugs him and starts to cry out loud. Lucian hugs her back and I can just smile at they.

_**Lucian**_

The army took care of everything: the terrorist where arrested (some of them had gone to the hospital, thanks to me and Suzaku), a lot of medics appeared at the academy to see if everyone wasn't injured, I was greeted by an officer by my great actions in arresting those criminals (with Suzaku, of course) and a lot of journalists wanted an interview with me and him, but I didn't gave it. Emily almost killed me for making her that scared and for putting myself in such a danger and Alice didn't stooped crying during all day (she always poses as the strong one, but he can't deal that well with stressful situations) saying that I am the "most stupid and stubborn guy on Earth", but she couldn't stop embracing me.

All the members of the Council were amazed about what we did and when I asked Milly to let Suzaku enter the Council, she agreed without any thinking. Suzaku and I became heroes for everyone, since we saved their lives. Arthur, that cat from Suzaku, was adopted by the Council, so he will live in the Council's room for now (don't ask me why, I don't know either).

The school had to be evacuated for the investigation, so we won't go there for the next few days. Shirley invited me and my sisters to her house, since we can't afford a hotel to stay and we don't have any family to return. When we arrived, her mother tanked me a lot for saving her daughter's life (I have never seen Shirley that red before) and I helped her to cook an amazing dinner for us (Shirley tried to help, but she is a completely disaster in a kitchen and when her mother stated that, with me, she shouldn't need to be good, she became a tomato).

I have to say that I am very happy with the outcome: no one was hurt and all the school don't care about Suzaku being a Japanese. What could possibly make things bad now?

The answer came the next day of the attack. Alongside the correspondence for Shirley's family, there was a formal invitation for me, an invitation that I couldn't refuse: A dinner with the viceroy Marianne vi Britannia and her family as a reward for saving all those lives.

I have looked at the invitation, wondering if she knew if I am his son. The worst part is that I can't refuse it, or questions will be asked, some that I don't want to be asked.

There's three hours for the dinner and Shirley prepared for me a very elegant clothe for me to use and her mother helped her to prepare it too. My sisters were very happy for me, since I am going to meet Marianne "The Flash", considered one of the best Knightmare's pilots of the world. I still not sure about what to, so I am just thinking about it and trying to figure out a way to solve this dilemma, but nothing comes to me.

"What would you do, Myagi-sensei?"


	6. Stage 6: Family Reunion

**Stage 6:**

**Family's Reunion**

**2012 A.T.B**

A twelve years old boy is in the outside training with a wood sword. It is raining, but the boy continues to draw the sword in the air and to cut the air with it. He is breathing a little more heavily than the normal, but besides that the rain doesn't seem to bother or to disturb his training at all.

"You really shouldn't be outside in the rain, Lucian."

An old man appears from the Japanese-style wooden house. He uses a traditional blue Japanese kimono and a cane to walk and has a severe face, but in this moment it shows more of a worried face.

"There's no space inside for this, besides Emily has a fever and I don't want to bother her."

"That's noble of you, but if you get sick all the house service stops, no one make the food in this house and I'll probably die from starvation. Saying all that, it would be really better for you to come inside and get a hot bath."

After giving it some thought, the boy finally gets out of the rain, only to be beaten in the head with the old man's cane.

"Ouch!"

"That's for making me explain something that even a frog could understand, you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want a piece of my cane that much?"

"Yes Sensei!"

"Much better."

The two of them enter the house through a sliding door. The house isn't really big: there is only three rooms inside, one is the kitchen, one is the sensei's room and the other is both living room and the children's room. In there a black haired girl and a blond girl are sleeping inside a futon, holding their hands Lucian smile and he gives a soft kiss on each cheek and he goes to the kitchen.

Inside a wooden vat he washes his own body with hot water, trying to prevent the water from falling in the floor. After the bath he changes to his work clothes and he starts to clean the kitchen and making the lunch. His culinary skills are a lot better than before, since he is able to do a very good meal in the present days.

He puts the food in a plate and arrange it to be better looking: robatayakis (grilled meat and vegetables in a stick) and some tea. He picks up the entire thing and he goes to the living room. There's a table next to the sleeping girls and he puts the lunch and the tea there. Next he gets some bottles of sake in a bedroom from the kitchen and a massu (cup to drink sake) for his sensei.

After everything is put into place, he calls the sensei and wakes up his sisters for the lunch. They still are sleepy when they sit around the table and the sensei starts to drink before eating.

"Did you really made all this, Oni-chan?"

"Yes, it was me, Emily."

"It's so beautiful! Looks like a piece of art."

"Your brother has a lot of useful skills Emily-chan, very different from that one."

"Hey! I don't help with the house because Oni-chan don't let me."

"And you won't! You are just a little girl."

"I have the same age that you had when you started to do all the work around here. I deserve to help you."

"What part of the "no" you didn't got?"

"You know Lucian, I think that she should start to help a little."

"You too sensei?"

"It would help to get some of the weight from your back and to make you more concentrated in the training."

Lucian shows an angry face, but against such a logic, he finally agrees to Alice helping in the house. Emily shows a sad face.

"I wish that I could help too."

"Don't worry about it Emily. You should rest for now and let me take care of everything."

"But I am useless! I can't cook, clean or fight like you!" She looks at the table. "I'm just a broken puppet that will live alone all its life."

"That's not true!" Lucian gets up. "Any man that have the luck to be at your side will be the happiest man in the world."

"If that's true... you will have to make me a promise."

"What promise? I'll do everything for you."

"Promise me that when we get older, you will marry me."

Lucian looks at his sister with a mix of surprise and confusion. Alice stands up too, looking at Emily with a little bit of anger.

"Emily! I'll be the one that marries him, not you!"

"I asked first!"

"I'm older!"

"I'm cutter!"

"Sensei, help me!" Lucian looks at the old man.

"Why not both?"

"Don't say weird things that won't help."

"That's right, why we don't share him?"

"Wait, what?!"

"That's true! We can be all together in this way."

"This has to be just a nightmare."

* * *

It is pretty late at the night and Lucian wakes up. His sisters are sleeping in his futon, since they were arguing who would sleep with him, he had to make room for both. The reason of why he woke up is the open door that leads to the outside. Getting up without making any noise, he goes outside to find his sensei there, sitting in the stairs and looking at the moon. Without saying anything Lucian just sits next to him.

"Sorry about earlier, I was already a little drunk."

"No problem." After a time of silence, he looks at the man with a worried face. "Hey, can I ask your opinion?"

"Which one should you marry? I prefer Emily, but..."

"That's not it!"

"Just kidding boy."

"What do you think that I should do if I find my family face-to-face?"

"You mean your biological family?"

"Yeah..."

"That's a really hard question to answer." He sighs. "And I can't give you an answer."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll depends of how are your feelings toward they and if they know or not that you are part of they." He looks at the boy. "Do you consider yourself part of they? Do you want to meet they?"

"My father will always be Genbu Kururugi and my brothers will be Suzaku, Emily and Alice. As for the second question... I don't know."

"I see... So the best advice that I can give you is: do as your hearth tells you."

"Thanks Myagi-sensei."

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

I am inside a limousine in the way to the dinner. I am wearing some clothes that make me look like a noble (thanks to Shirley and her mother) and I am preparing myself for this. I never thought that I would meet my "mother" and "sisters" in that way. The worst part will be to explain why am I so similar to Lelouch, but I think that I can avoid that hit (maybe).

We arrive at the building and there is someone waiting at the entrance: a man wearing an orange military uniform. After I get out of the car, I recognize him as Suzaku.

"What are you doing here? And with that clothes?"

"What...? Lucian? What are you...?"

"I was invited for a dinner with the viceroy and her family."

"You too? But wait..."

"I know, but I couldn't just refuse something like that."

"What are you going to do?"

"I guess... that I will enter the lion's mouth for now and gamble a little."

"If they discover about who you really is..."

"They won't! I've been able to lie to everyone since the beginning, so it shouldn't be so hard. Anyway, what is with your clothes?"

"Those are the only ones that I have for something like this." He says with a red face.

"Don't ever tell the president about that, or else she will drag you in a hunt for "style"."

"O-okay."

After that someone appears to guide us to the dinner. During the way a maid was carrying a tray with some food on it, but she bumps me. My clothes didn't get dirty, but all the food goes to the ground and, looking at my face, she starts to cry.

"Please master Lelouch! Don't fire me for this!" She begs, getting on her knees.

"Wait, I'm not..."

"I will clean it up right away, my lord! And... if you want my company at night... you just have to tell."

"Are you an... Eleven?" I asks with a shocked face.

"Yes sir, but I beg you! I will compensate you."

I look at her shocked. So that is the kind of person that my "brother" is, an arrogant that only gives fear to others. I calm myself and I give my hand to help her to get up, which she accepts, with a surprised face.

"First of all: I'm not Lelocuh. Second: your face is dirty." I say while I give her a scarf. "Third: It was my fault, so don't worry about it."

"Are you... his brother or something?"

"No, we aren't related by blood. We just happened to have the same face." I look at a clock and I see that it is almost time. "Sorry, but I have to go. You can keep this scarf."

I smile at her and we get back on our way. The man that was guiding us didn't said a thing (he must be a Japanese too) but he gave me a smile when we reach our destination and leaves. Only a door separates me from my "family".

"Are you really ready for this?"

"No. If I enter this room only when I am finally ready, I won't enter ever."

Saying this I finally open the door and we both enter. I barely set two steps inside and I fell something embracing me and, looking down, I see a lot of a sandy brown hair.

"Hi big brother."

I wasn't expecting for that. It is Nunnaly vi Britannia that is here now, thinking that I am her brother, Lelouch.

"You see, I'm not..."

"Lelouch, you came after all."

I look at who talked and I see Euphemia li Britannia there, with a kind smile. After some steps, she notices something wrong.

"You... are Lelouch, right?"

She noticed? Well, this just helps me to explain myself. In the most gentle way, I push Nunnaly back and I smile at those two.

"Sorry, your Highness, but I'm not your brother. My name is Lucian Lamperouge and I am here because of an invitation from the viceroy."

"You are the guy who defeated those terrorists in the school?"

"Yes, I am. But I could do it only with the help of this man."

"What? Me?"

"I can't see another man in this room. Do any of you two can?"

Euphemia and Nunnaly look at each other with confused faces, probably wondering if I was telling the truth. After some time, Euphemia gives me a smile.

"No I can't."

"You look exactly like my big brother."

"Everyone always says that, but I'm just a commoner, your Highness."

"Oh, please don't call us like that." Euphemia says. "It's so strange to have someone of my age calling us like that. You can call us by our names or use Euphie and Nunna."

"Very well, Euphie-sama."

"Just Euphie."

"Sorry, Euphie."

"Why don't you two sit and make us company while my sister and the viceroy don't arrive?"

I look at Suzaku while we go to some couches and he gives me a smile to encourage me. Strangely, it is really easy to talk with those two girls, like we had spent a whole life together. We sit in the couches, Suzaku and me in one and Euphemia and Nunnaly in the other.

"You knew Suzaku before his going to Ashford?" Euphemia asks.

"We know each other since we were eight years old. We used to live in the same house before the invasion of Japan."

"I see. Did you two kept contact?"

"Unfortunately, we lost contact for seven years and we've met again at Ashford."

"So you two just meet each other after seven years and you recognized each other? That's so nice."

This conversation continues for some time until we hear someone arriving and we all see her: Marianne vi Britannia and Cornelia li Britannia, her personal knight, alongside two mans. It's kind of strange that a princess from the Royal Family is the knight of someone, but it looks like the Emperor gave her a special permission. They stop when they see me, without understanding the situation. Euphemia and Nunnaly explained it to they and they were very surprised by my appearance. Those mans were none others than Gilbert G.P Guilford, Cornelia's knight, and General Andreas Darlton, one of Cornelia's subordinates.

We go to a big dinning room where we will eat. Marianne sits at the edge of the table with Cornelia at her left and an empty place at her right (probably for Lelouch). Next to Cornelia is, in order, Euphemia, Guilford and Darlton. On the right, after the empty place, there's Nunnaly, me and Suzaku.

Cornelia asks me how did I stopped those terrorists (a very good way to start a conversation if you ask me) and I told everything to her, trying to make it sound less dangerous.

"But you weren't scared?" Nunnaly asks me.

"Of course I was. But if I hadn't done what I did, all my loved ones would be hurt."

"Even so, it was a very good plan. You perfectly used the resources that you had at the time and combined it with your physical ability. As a result, no one was harmed and you are now a hero." Darlton says.

"I've just did what I could, that's all."

"Have you ever considered the military?" Guilford asks.

"Not exactly. I don't think that I would command men and women that well. I think that the only strategy that I'll plan in all my life is in chess."

"So you like chess hum?" Marianne asks me.

"Very much. And I always was quite good, I think."

"You do resembles Lelouch, not only in the outside."

"It's that so?"

"Yes: your taste for chess, your perfect strategic mind." He says, but she shows a sad smile. "But you also is so different from him."

I agree with that statement. Lelouch seems like some despicable and horrible person, always putting himself before the others. I can't agree with such a person.

"Speaking of him, where he is?" Nunnaly asks.

"He told me that he was going to simulate an attack to the Saitama ghetto to make Zero goes out in the open, so he can capture him."

"Do you think that this is going to work?" Cornelia asks.

"Maybe, but I told him to only simulate and to not attack the Elevens." He says while Marianne looks at me. "What would you do if you where Zero?"

"Me?" I look at her, confused by this sudden question. Does she suspects me? That is the reason why I was invited here today? I rearrange my thinking to answer this. "If I was Zero, I would be certain that my chances of victory where of, at least, 80%, and to be sure of a escape route was set in case things go bad."

"And what if the conditions weren't at your favor?"

"I would have to create my conditions of victory."

"You would certainly make a bad enemy to have." Cornelia states.

While they continue in a conversation, my cell phone rings, but it is in silent mode, so I am the only one that notices. When I see who is calling I almost let a sound goes.

"Excuse me, but it seems that I need to use the bathroom."

After I am finally there and I close the door, I answer the call from Ohgi, the resistance group leader.

"What is it Ohgi? I am busy right..."

"We need your help! They are dying out there!"

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"In the Saitama ghetto they are shooting everyone in the streets."

"But my information says that it was a simulated attack."

"It's not! They really are killing everyone in sight! We need to do something!"

Lelouch, he is killing the Japanese? But why? I need to do something, but I can't do it from here and I can't leave either. Think Lucian, you need to think, or else innocent lives will be in your hands.

I could report this to Marianne and she can stop that bastard, but I can't explain how I know this. Use my Geass on her? No, this is impossible, since I would have to use in everyone one inside the room, including Suzaku, and I can't do that. Or maybe...

* * *

I come back to the dining room and they hadn't received any notice from the attack. After some tense minutes, a military officer appears and speaks a little with Marianne, making her face to go white. She sends the man away and she gets up.

"Sorry to go out in the middle of the dinner, but it seems that something requires my attention. Excuse me."

She makes a signal for Cornelia to follow her and all the military, besides Suzaku, leave the room, letting only the four of us left in the room.

"I wonder if something happens." Euphemia says.

"Don't worry about this, Euphemia. It shouldn't be nothing." Suzaku says.

He don't know how much I wish that he is right.

_**Marianne**_

I am inside a comm. room with Cornelia, Guilford and Darlton to see if this information is true. Apparently a note appeared to one of our military officers stating that Lelouch is on a killing spree in Saitama, very differently from what he was supposed to do. Also, they can't make him answer any call, so they warned me about this.

The screen lights up and my son's face appears in there. After looking for some time at that boy's face, Lucian, I almost forgot how my son really looks: arrogant and with a sarcastic smile.

"What it is, mother?"

"I've received information that you are killing innocent Elevens inside the ghetto. Am I right, Lelouch?"

"You should call them terrorists, dear mother."

"So it's true." I sigh heavily. "You will stop it now."

"They started it mother, so..."

"Oh, really? A few mans with no Knightmares and almost any weapon would attack the Britannian Army? Do you know how ridiculous is this?"

"Zero could be leading they."

"Are you certain that is him?"

"No, but they are all dogs anyway, so why should I..."

"As Viceroy of Area 11 and the 5th Empress of the Holy Empire of Britannia, I command you to stop this madness at once, _sub_-viceroy Lelouch."

"But mother..."

"Don't call me that! You just crossed a line that you couldn't! We'll talk when you arrive here."

I am so angry right now that I can't even think right and I sit down in the second I enter my office. I look at a picture of me with Lelouch, Euphemia, Nunnaly and Cornelia, all together. In the picture, Lelouch is smiling with joy, like he was the happiest boy in the world. I wonder where did I was wrong.

"It's so strange to see him now, considering how he was as a child."

"I agree." Cornelia says. "Specially after seeing that boy, Lucian."

"Yes." I put my hand in my belly, the same place where two children where growing together, but only one of they came out breathing. "They even have the same name."

"I wonder if our Lucian would looks like the same as him, or he would be just like Lelouch."

"Yes Cornelia, me too." I look out at the window, imagining how it would be if Lucian hadn't died back there. A tear rolls from my eye and it crosses my face. "Every day of my life."

_**Lucian**_

"It was so good to meet you Lucian."

"The same here, Euphie."

"You should really come more. You too Suzaku." Nunnaly says.

"Y-yeah, I'll try. Thanks for the dinner."

It took me a while to get at Shirley's house, since it was past midnight, but I did it. Her mother gave me a spare key so I can enter now, so I put the key in the keyhole and I enter the house, tired as hell. I am using the guest room to sleep, while my sisters are sleeping in Shirley's room, even if it is not that big. I am truly grateful to her for letting us stay here and I need to remember to buy her a present to show it. I have a special bond with her and I can even imagine a future with her. But first I need to destroy the injustice in the world, so one day we can... but this is just a maybe.

I enter the living room and I see her sleeping in the couch, wearing a blue nightdress that do a good pair with her hair. There's some saliva coming out of her mouth and she is in a weird position in the couch. I smile as I approach and I use the sleeve of my coat to clean her mouth, but she wakes up.

She has a sleepy face when she looks at me, making her very cute. She yawns and stretches and, for accident, I see her blue panties, which I turn my eyes away.

"How long...?"

"It's past midnight now, very late." I say while I try to get her out of the couch. "You should really go to bed."

"Wait, Lulu!" She says, fully waking up.

"What it is?"

"I...I...I..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's so hard to say..."

"What is so hard to say?"

"Th-thanks for... saving me in the school."

"C'mon, you don't need to say it like..." Before I could end my sentence, she embraces me.

"It's just that... I really thought that I was going to die back there."

"I wouldn't let that..."

"And my greatest repentance was that I never told the man that I love how I fell about him."

"What? Shirley..."

"But you saved me there and I can now finish this pain."

"Really?" I fell like my brain is on slow-motion.

"Yes. I've been thinking during the whole night about this and I can't just let this opportunity pass."

"I see."

She them gets up alongside with me and she looks at my purple eyes with some feeling that I find hard to describe. Her green eyes are filed with a lot of emotions and she is about to cry.

"Lucian Lamperouge?"

"Yes, Shirley Fenette?"

"I love you."

She says it with such beauty that I can't control myself and we kiss. It is a long kiss and I don't want it to end. I like her for sometime, but I could never tell her about that, fearing to lose her. But I just forget about it today and now, so we just kiss. After it ends, I look at her with a smile and I see that she is smiling too, but with tears in his eyes.

"Why the tears?"

"I'm relieved that I finally said it." She says while she cleans her face. "And I'm more happy to know that you loves me as well."

"I like you for some time now."

"Idiot."

"Why?"

"It's the job of the man to take the initiative, you know that?"

"You are right, I'm sorry."

"You have no salvation." She sighs. "Can I make you a request for you to make up for that?"

"What kind of request?"

"Promise first."

"I promise."

"Sleep with me."

"WHAT?!"

"I don't want anything perverted, just to sleep in the same bed."

I look at her with a shocked face, barely believing her request.

"But, your mother..."

"She agreed to it."

"What?"

"She is even letting us using the bed in the guest room."

"You mean... she let you and me..."

"If we aren't going to do perverted things."

"Well... okay."

I changed my clothes and now we are both in that bed, together. It's very embarrassing to be in the same bed as her, but that isn't a bad feeling at all. She is laying her head in my chest and I am passing my hand in her orange hair and, even sleeping, she is smiling. Them I think about what happened today at the dinner, when I finally met my "family". It wasn't bad at all and I really enjoyed my time with Euphemia, Nunnaly, Cornelia and Marianne. The problem was Lelouch, the personification of everything that I hate in Britannia.

I have called Ohgi to see if the attack stopped and I was relieved that my plan worked at the end. I simply write a note and, through Geass, I made it go to an important military officer, someone that would warn the viceroy and she called off the attack. The terrorists are to disorganized to be an army, so I will have to create my own army... no, my own country to defeat Britannia.

I look at Shirley and I know just one thing for sure: that is the real way for me to do it, not only for her, but for all the weak people of this world.

For they, I must be Zero.


	7. Stage 7: The Born of an Army

**Stage 7:**

**The born of an Army**

**2014 A.T.B**

A young man is carrying a black-haired girl in his back and at the same time he is holding some bags that seems to hold groceries. A blonde girl walks next to him, holding bags as well. They come across some teenagers wearing Britannian clothes that don't look very friendly. In the moment they see the boy and the girls, they form a stupid smile on their faces and start to walk towards they.

"Hey Lucian, how are you? Still lives among the pigs, it seems."

The blonde girls looks angry at the guys, but the young one just ignores they and continues to walk forward. The guys step in his way, blocking the passage.

"What do you all want?"

"You always pass in this way: to go to school, to do groceries, to everything and you never paid the toll for it."

"It's a public passage, so I don't need to pay those things."

"As long as you are an Eleven lover, you'll pay like any other Eleven."

"Japanese."

"What?"

"They are Japanese, not Eleven."

"Your little piece of shit."

The guy attacks Lucian, but the young man steps behind and lands his knee right at his chin, making a loud noise. The mans falls in the floor, holding his mouth and screaming.

"Alice, take care of your sister."

He puts Emily on the floor alongside the groceries and he prepares to fight. There are seven guys (if you count the one on the floor) and they are all older than Lucian, but the boy was trained for something like that. The first one attacks, but he is sent into the floor within just some seconds. Two of they try to attack at the same time, but Lucian uses his leg to hit both and send they to the ground. Another one grabs a knife and he tries to cut Lucian, but the boy grabs the blade between his fingers and lands a punch directly in his face, breaking the nose with a loud sound. The next one runs away, too scared to fight back and the last one is undecided if he should run or not, but he comes to the conclusion that is better run.

"Don't move a muscle or the girl dies!"

Turning back, the young one sees the leader with a knife at Emily's neck, almost cutting her. Before he could do anything, one of the guys lands a direct punch in his stomach, making Lucian to go on his knees. Next the other ones start to kick him without mercy.

"That's good, right Eleven's lover? It's good to be treated like an Eleven? Because that is going to be what you'll receive every..."

He couldn't finish his statement because a rock came flying towards his head, shutting his mouth as he lost the consciousness. The other ones look at the leader and Lucian uses this distraction to finish them off.

The young man looks at who helped him and he sees an older man with an scar all over his right cheek and dark blue eyes. The boy also has a rebel black hair and a smile that covers his whole face. Despite the circumstances, Lucian recognizes him and he shows a surprised face.

"Akihiko-senpai?"

* * *

"Man it's good to see you healthy, Lucian-chan."

"Stops calling me that!"

The boy only laughs as Alice puts more tea in his cup. Akihiko Sanada, old senpai from Lucian when he was living with the Kururugis, he was always like an older brother to the younger ones and he helped Lucian to adapt in his new life at Japan. He is 5 years older than Lucian and he used to have a problem with women.

"So, now you have sisters? And two?"

"Yes, I have. And you? What happened to your family?"

"Well..." He scratches his head. "My parents died in the war and my brother died last year. I'm all alone now."

"I'm... sorry, I didn't knew..."

"Don't be. I am doing something for them now."

"What? Can you tell me?"

"Of course! But you can't tell anyone."

"Sure." Lucian asks for Alice and Emily to go outside. "So, what it is?"

"I'm part of a resistance cell now."

"What?"

"We are the "Knights of the Rising Sun", the men that will bring Japan back to what he used to be."

"Why would you..."

"I'm sick of the Britannians treating us like we are garbage! I'm tired of this oppression! My whole family died because of Britannia and I'll bring Japan's rising sun back, even if it costs my life."

"I see."

"Hey, why don't you join us?"

"A resistance cell?"

"Yes, of course! If I remember, you where pretty good at fighting with swords and stuff, you used to really like Japan and..."

"Stop! Just stop." He takes a deep breath. "I can't."

"Why not? Don't you want to make your sisters happy?"

"Of course that I want!"

"So why won't you..."

"Because of they! Emily can't walk and Alice can't stay alone for five minutes without hurting herself! If I leave to fight Britannia, they wouldn't take cares of themselves."

"You can add me in that equation as well."

"Sensei?"

"Without the help of this boy I can't do almost nothing." He says, looking at Akihiko. "So I can't let you to take him away. Besides, he's only fourteen!"

"Age doesn't matter! What matters is the fire inside the hearth of one person!"

"My answer is still no, I'm sorry."

"I see." He gets up and picks his coat. "Thanks for the tea."

After he leaves, Lucian looks at the floor with a sad face.

"Would you like to go with him?"

"Maybe, but I still have three people to take care, so I won't go."

"Self-sacrifice? This just suits you."

"Yeah, I know, sensei."

* * *

It is a rainy day, with a quiet atmosphere in the house. Emily is drawing with some crayons that Lucian bought, Alice is training her modeling of onigiris and Myagi-sensei is drinking his sake (what he always do, no matter the period of the day). Lucian enters the house with an umbrella covering him, but the rain was so strong that the boy is soaked to the bones. The only dry part of him is a newspaper that he is getting under his coat.

"Next time go buy yourself your newspaper, old man!"

"Stop complaining about... what's wrong?"

Lucian just looks at the first page, white as a skull. Then he slowly shows him: the terrorist group "Knights of the Rising Sun" are captured by viceroy Clovis and punish with a death penalty, to be applied tomorrow.

"Shit, Lucian you..." Before he can finish the boy is outside, in the middle of the rain.

The master gets up, and for a drunk old man with a leg problem, gets up fast and goes out only to see Lucian there, punching a tree with all his might.

"Stupid... resistance... that idiot..."

"Lucian, get inside now!"

The boy doesn't answer, but he looks at his master with anger, an anger that he never showed before. After that, he just runs away, deep in the rain.

"Lucian! Come back here!" But is useless, he is already gone.

The old man waits a little, but the cold air makes him enter the house, where the two girls are waiting. The moment he enters alone, the two girls look confused at him, without understanding why the man is alone.

"Where is oni-chan?"

"I don't know."

"He's going to come back?"

"I don't know."

"Why would he just go like that?"

"I don't know."

"But..."

"I ALREADY SAID THAT I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! SO SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The two girls look at him, scared and Emily starts to cry, with Alice comforting her. The hours pass, but Lucian don't comes back and the two girls start to discuss where Lucian might be.

* * *

Several days pass and it is late, past midnight, and a cloaked figure walks in the streets, alone. He is looking for some people, but he doesn't know exactly where they are, but he knows where he can find they. It's the worst part of the town, with beggars and junkies all over the place. The figure notices that one of the beggars is following him, so he goes to a dark alley.

"Looks like you took the wrong path, pal." The beggar spits on the floor. "And now you'll give me all your money."

"I don't think so." The cloaked one grabs the beggar hand, covers his mouth and break his fingers, but his scream isn't heard by anyone. The cloaked one asks some questions to the man and he answer them all, under the menace to have other bones broken. When the cloaked one is satisfied with the answers, he let the man goes, telling him that if he tells anyone about him, he will die in a very painful manner.

He takes his way and, after some more interrogations, he finds what he was looking for: seven Britannian teenagers who charge a toll in a way in the streets.

"Hey buddy." the leader points towards the mysterious figure. "Another crazy dude."

"What are you doing here, hum?" the closest one approaches him, drugged as hell. "The freak show is in another part of the town."

The cloaked figure don't say nothing, just stand there, without a word being said. The closest guy picks a little knife from his pocket.

"Get out of here before I slice you in pieces." The others laugh, showing support and the guy with the knife shows a smile.

"Are you deaf? I said..."

He doesn't end his sentence, because the cloaked figure puts a long Tanto, a Japanese knife similar to a little katana, through his mouth, killing him. Before the others could even react, the figure runs towards the next guy and he slice his stomach, making his entrails to go to the floor. His next move is towards the oldest guy, but he managed to avoid the knife, but not the feet in his knee, breaking it, and he gets his throat cut. The other four guys are fully conscious of the person now, ready to either run or fight. One of they gets a rusty pipe and attacks the figure, but he just gets his hand cut, to die right away. The cloaked one gets the pipe with his feet and he throw it at one of they, impaling him in the chest. One of the guys decides to run, but the Tanto is thrower at him, entering deeply at his back.

The leader is the last and he decided to run, gaining a great advantage over his attacker, but the cloaked figure runs faster than any human being and he gets him fast. The delinquent is on the floor now, with the cloaked figure over him.

"Last words?"

"Please, don't kill me."

The mysterious one doesn't say anything, he just starts to punch his face, without any restrain or mercy. After he finish with him, there is no more than blood and pieces of brain and skull in where used to be a head.

He gets up, the only being alive in the place and he starts to run fast, even faster than before and before he notice, he is in an old and dirty shrine. He looks at the night's sky and he yell from the deepest part of him.

He gets off his cloak, revealing a Lucian with no more than hate inside his eyes. The boy goes towards the entrance of the shrine and he opens the sliding door and he enters the old building. There are a lot of memories inside there: two boys running around the house, laughing; the prime-minister of Japan giving him his first lesson about honor; Tohdoh training him and his brother in sword fight; the same two boys fighting each other for the right to marry their cousin. All of them just memories, cursed to stay like that forever, since they are all gone: his brother, his father, his whole family, even the people that helped him to forget his hideous past.

And is all Britannia's fault. Britannia destroyed Japan and his people, making them less than insects and dust, just a solitary dot in the world. The boy goes in his knees, crying and sobbing, barely able to hold his feelings.

"I'm so sorry, father. I killed again, even after I made that promise. Please forgive your stupid son." Silence goes after that statement.

"You can't answer, can you? After all, you are dead." The young one lies on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "Everyone is dead or gone and I am all alone now. I can't fight against Britannia, but I can't stand still much longer, but I don't know what to do. Even with all this training, everything that someone like me can do is killing some delinquents. I'm nothing more than a piece of shit that no one cares anymore."

"I can't create miracles like Tohdoh or be wise like Myagi-sensei, I'm barely able to take care of my sisters properly and I hate myself for it." He slams his fist on the floor. "I won't even be remembered by someone after they are dead and I'll die without achieving anything important for this country that adopted me. I'm useless and stupid for thinking that one day this would change, even slightly. If only I had power..."

"Even after all my teaching, you can't be patient, can you?" A person appears from the dark.

"Sensei?"

"I'm sorry Lucian. I'm so sorry for my mistake. For not be able to see your sadness and regrets." He goes to his knees and he coughs, spilling blood all over the floor.

"Sensei!"

"Don't worry, it's okay." He cleans his mouth with his sleeve. "Lucian, I know that it's hard, but you need to wait a little more patient to achieve what fate has reserved for you."

"But..."

"You of all people can't just lose hope. I see a great future for you and you just have to wait a little longer, you understand?"

"I... yes, sensei."

"Good. Your sisters are worried about you, after all, you spent three days out and if I eat another bite of Alice's "food", I swear to God, I'm going to kill that girl."

"I'm sorry."

"Your sisters need you, more than you think. Even I need your help, Lucian. You aren't alone."

"I know. Trust me, I know."

They start to leave and, looking back, Lucian can see his father and Suzaku, both smiling at him. The boy makes a silent vow to they and he starts to get out, wondering what the future might hold in place for him.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Kallen**_

"I've never left the Tokyo settlement before."

Shirley states that with a smile on her face. We are all in a train going to Kawakuchi Lake for a trip of the Student Council, but only for the women. I didn't wanted to go with they, but Milly kind of forced me, so here I am.

"I bet that you wish that a certain male would have come with us, right Lady Lamperouge?"

"What? Oh right..."

It is being a week since they announced their courtship to the Council and they spent a great amount of time together. I am happy that now she finally stopped to accuse me of liking him, but I am really happy about they. Lucian is always a gentle guy around everyone and he is very popular with the girls, so a lot of girls are angry towards Shirley, specially if you consider the fact that Lucian saved the whole school from those terrorists.

I still don't know why, but since that incident, I started to notice Lucian more and I become more conscious of his presence, even a little more happy to see him around. Of course, I am deeply grateful for what he did, but this feeling can't be love. It's more of something that I felt before, but a long time ago.

"Don't worry about it. We'll stay up late and we'll talk about the boys that we like and you will tell us about Lucian's performance."

"What do you mean?"

"According to what I heard, you two spent a night sleeping together, am I right?"

"You got it wrong! We hadn't done anything like that!"

"So you two slept together?"

"Y-yeah, but..."

I fell a little bit of anger for that information. They are a couple, I know, but shouldn't they wait a little more before doing something like that? We pass in a tunnel and Nina suddenly breaths heavily, scared. She was already a scared kitty before and now she can't even goes to a bathroom alone.

"Nina, it's alright. There's a lot of tourists at the hotel, so you don't need to worry okay?"

"Yes, but..."

"We'll be with you the whole time, so you don't need to be afraid, okay?"

"Thanks." She shows a little smile.

In the beginning I didn't liked the idea to go to a Britannian school, but now I really care for those people, even considering they my friends. I look at the window as Mount Fuji appears after we left the tunnel, smiling for those memories that I am collecting.

_**Lucian**_

I am sitting inside the new mobile base that I have got for the operations for my resistance cell. This wasn't so hard to get, since I just asked a nobleman to give me it, so now I finally have a mobile base to command everything. It is a little hard to find time to be Zero since me and Shirley started to date each other and it was an almost herculean job to convince C.C to leave my room and to make my two sisters don't tell anyone about her. Suzaku was easier, since he believed that me and C.C weren't going to marry each other.

The members enter and look impressed at the base, asking questions about how I got it, if I am sure about joining they. I notice that Kallen is not here and they tell me that she had to go to a school trip that couldn't be avoided. I smile behind my mask, since I know how persuasive the president can be.

One of the members, Yoshitaka Minami, turns on the television and we see that the Japan Liberation Front has taken a hotel and made hostages at Kawakuchi Lake. I stat to pay attention to it, fearing what I could see and my fears are confirmed: I see the women from the council alongside the hostages. In addition to that, I see a pink-haired girl with purple eyes, wearing glasses and normal clothes. That stupid, what is she doing there? How could anyone allows a princess of the Royal Family to go to a place like that? I see that Euphemia is disguised, but the second they find out about her identity...

My cell phone starts vibrating and I see that Rivalz is calling me, but I don't reply him. I need to think what my next course of action will be, considering all that is involved. Then, I finally see all the plan formed inside my mind and, if it works, I can save everyone and even turn our little group well known.

They are getting ready for the operation and I am watching what is happening at Kawakuchi Lake. The reporter is talking to someone and I finally notice that is Shirley's father that is speaking, stating that his daughter hadn't done anything wrong to be taken as a hostage. It is to soon to an open-fight, but I can't just stay still without doing anything. Knowing Marianne, she won't make a movement, fearing that the hostages and Euphemia would end up dead, but is not with her that I am worried. Lelouch would probably sacrifice the hostages and his own sister, just to get the terrorists killed. Ohgi enters my office, showing a worried face.

"Zero, what do you think that they are going to do with the hostages?"

"Eventually, there won't be any reason to keep they alive, so I fear that they might just kill them all."

"But Kallen is there, we can't...

"We won't! We are going to rescue they."

"Yeah... thanks. But about those things here..." He shows me a box filled with black clothes. "Should I distribute they among us? I mean, we are just a resistance group..."

"Wrong. We aren't a resistance group."

"So, what we are?"

"Remember what I told you when I said my name at Shinjuku?"

"Yeah."

"That's your answer."

* * *

We captured a TV trailer and now we are heading straight forward the Army. All our escape routes are cut and they just have to shoot at us, but Marianne probably won't do anything to a disarmed group. Her Gloucester appears, with Cornelia, Guilford and Bartley at her side. He gets out of the Gloucester and we are now face-to-face, but now I am not Lucian, but Zero, her enemy and the killer of a royal prince.

"So we finally meet, Zero."

"It seems that way."

"Are you a member of the JLF? Or perhaps are you here to help us? Either way, I can't allow you to interfere." She says while she pushes her sword, that is also a firearm, and she points it at me. It is very strange to see that kind woman like that, but I know of her weak spot. "I shall take your life for Clovis."

"Which would you choose, Marianne? Clovis, a dead person, or Euphemia, who is alive?"

She shows a surprised face to me, since no one should know about that. The first condition is cleared and now I can go to phase two.

"How do you know about that?"

"That kind of thing doesn't matter. All that you need to know is that I can save her and all the hostages."

"Can I trust you? Even after what you have done?"

"Yes, of course."

She thinks a little, but she nods, agreeing and standing aside to let me pass. We start to move forward, but I sense something at our side and I see a Sutherland going toward me. I look at it, surprised, but Cornelia steps in the way and she stops it.

"Stop right there, soldier! Viceroy Marianne let him pass."

"Are you all mad? He is using you all!"

Lelouch! He tried to kill me, even with the orders from his mother. Marianne looks at him with displeasure in his eyes.

"Stand aside Lelouch, or I'll be obliged to make you do it."

"You can't..."

"Last time I checked, you aren't the sub-viceroy anymore, Lelouch."

His Sutherland stand aside and I can Imagine his face, making this whole thing be worth. We proceed towards the entrance and there's two ways for this to happen: either they let me pass as an ally, or as a foe. Either way, they probably can't resist the temptation to meet the infamous Zero. As I predicted, they let me in, making all the preliminary conditions cleared.

Phase two is done and now we walk to the final phase of this show.

_**Suzaku**_

I am inside the Lancelot, ready to be deployed inside the tunnel. The command allowed me to go there as a decoy to create confusion and allow the royal guard to enter it. I agreed with that to save all the hostages, including my friends. I tried to contact Lucian, but I couldn't find him, neither Rivalz. I just hope that he is okay now, since he and Shirley just started a relationship and He would be devastated is something happens to her.

Earlier this day, I saw a hostage being thrown from the rooftop of the hotel and I couldn't do anything to save him. Now my mission is simple: I have to use the utility tunnel to get inside the hotel and I have to destroy the foundation block, making the hotel submerge, giving eight minutes to save the hostages before they are submerged. I was given a V.A.R.I.S rifle to deal with it and the only real problem is the Raikou weapon inside the tunnel, so I must destroy it in order to save everyone.

I remember Shirley telling me about the trip and I was happy for her and the other girls, specially Kallen. They all passed for a rough time in that terrorist attack last week, so it was good that they would do something to forget that. Now they are there again, fearing for their lives and I am the only one that can help they.

"Twelve minutes until the start of the operation."

_**Lucian**_

"You have no intention of joining me?"

"Remove your mask and maybe we can talk. Your mask is a disrespect towards me."

Josui Kusakabe, the head behind it all. He has a katana and is sitting in a couch, with two armed guards in the room. I laugh a little before answering.

"You want respect after what you did? What exactly do you want to accomplish with this?"

"You ask? I want the world to know that the Japanese are not dead yet!"

"How stale. You a just a relic from the past that can't look forward, only at the way that you just passed."

"You piece of..." Kusakabe signals him to shut up.

"What do you mean by that, Zero?"

"We've brought Princess Euphemia for interrogation."

I hear someone saying that outside and I can't believe that she was caught. Kusakabe gets up and he gets his sword out of its sheath, going in my direction, but I avoid the sword and I grab it from his hands, making it cross his chest. Next, I grab his pistol and I finish off the two other guards before they could do anything about it. The guards outside enter the room, but I kill the first one with my pistol and I see her: Euphemia is there.

"The colonel attacked me and I killed him in self-defense. Euphemia, did you surrender yourself for the sake of the commoners?"

My soldiers appear and they surrender the JLF soldiers and Euphemia is now here, locked with me. I look at her and I see her anger, what makes sense since I am the one that killed his beloved brother, Clovis.

"So, you are Zero, right?"

"Yeas, indeed. And you hates me for killing your brother Clovis, am I right?"

"I..."

"It was pathetic. He cried and begged until the very end, with the same mouth that ordered the mass murder of the Japanese."

"So that's the reason why you killed my brother?" She says, getting angrier.

"Yes that's right. But maybe it was also because he was a member of the Royal Family. Which reminds me that you are also one, aren't you?" I say while I point a gun at her.

_**Suzaku**_

"M.E boost."

"Lancelot, now launching."

I go forward in the tunnel, getting deeper inside it when I see the bullets from the cannon coming in my direction. I start to avoid they as I go further in, using even the ceiling of the tunnel to avoid it. Against the next lead I use the Blaze Luminous Shield to defend myself as I get the V.A.R.I.S out.

It is dangerous to try to use it now, since I can't avoid or use any shield while I aim, but I don't have enough room for any other option. I aim for the Raikou and I take a deep breath before shooting.

They shoot the cannon and I shot my V.A.R.I.S right away, destroying all the cannon's bullets and the cannon itself. Using the explosion as a catapult, I go through the hole caused by the explosion, going outside of the tunnel and I start to shoot the base of the building, making it starts to go underwater.

As I fall, I can see Zero from one of the windows just before the whole thing explodes. The second I hit the floor, I go towards the building, without caring about Lloyd's warning.

* * *

"I couldn't rescue them."

I look at the destroyed building with a tears in my eyes, barely believing it. After all my efforts, I wasn't strong enough to save them all. I failed... again." I say while I punch the side of the cockpit. Suddenly, I can hear the voice of Zero from somewhere and I see him from a TV transmission.

"My dear Britannians, have no fear. I have saved all the hostages from the hotel. I return they to you unharmed."

As the transmission goes on, I can see the girls there, alive and well. Thanks God for this! Light goes where Zero is and I can see a group of people behind him.

"People! Fear us or rely behind us as you see fit. We are the Order of the Black Knights! We stand among those who have no weapons to wield, whether they are Japanese, Britannian or from any nation. The Japanese Liberation Front cowardly took Britannians as hostages and they merciless executed them. It was a meaningless act, so we punished they. Just like I punished Clovis for the slaughter of hundreds of Japanese people. I couldn't stand by and allow such cruelty against anyone! I won't repudiate battle, but I can't tolerate mass murder against the weak. The only ones allowed to kill are the ones that are ready to be killed. Wherever the oppression is, we will be there, fighting against it, no matter how mighty or formidable our enemy might be."

"Those of you with power, fear me!" He says opening his left arm. "Those of you with any, rely behind us!" He opens his right arm. "We, the Black Knights, are the ones who shall bring judgment to this world!"


	8. Stage 8: Memories of a Forgotten Past

**Stage 8:**

**Memories of a Forgotten Past**

**2008 A.T.B**

It is a little cold today and the little girl is in the park, all alone. Tears roll over her face as she can't find her mother and her brother. She looks around but they still hadn't appeared and she is worried now. Her mother promised to make an incredible dinner tonight, but she got away and ended up in this park. It isn't so cold, but the girl is sad, making the weather looks colder.

"Look what we have here guys."

She looks back and she sees three older boys looking at her with a strange look in their faces. The girl grabs his little purse and puts it closer to her body, embracing it with a frightened look at her eyes.

"Look, the little kid is scared. How cute." One of they says as they approaches the girl. She tries to run, but one of they hold her arm, hurting her a little.

"Let me go!"

The guy just puts her on the ground and the others surround her. She looks at they only with fear in their eyes. She prays for his brother to come, but she knows that he probably can't. She tries to run by punching, kicking and biting anyone, but they are much stronger than her and they dominate her.

"You deserve a punishment for this."

"Hey, I never saw what the girls have in the middle of their legs, my brother says that it's different."

"What about we see it and we take some pictures?"

"No, please no!" The girl screams, desperate.

"You should have think about that before you starts to hurt us."

While he says that, other guy starts to put her skirt out, opening the zip. Now she is only in underwear and they are going to put it off. Suddenly, a rock appears and hits the boy that was holding her legs. When they all look who thrown it, they see a boy around the same age as the girl. Before the other ones can do anything, the new boys starts to throw rock after rock, making the three boys run away.

He approaches the girl and she putts her arms around her head, but the boy doesn't harm her. In the contrary, he gets her skirt and, without looking, hand it to her.

"Here." She gets it, looking at him. "It's cold, so you should put it fast."

She puts her skirt very fast and she looks better at the boy. He doesn't look like a Japanese, so he must be from another country and he is around the same age and the same height as her.

"What's your name." He answer it and asks back. "I'm Kallen, Kallen Kouzuki."

"You are Japanese? I thought that you were from Britannia."

"My father is, but my mother is from Japan. You aren't Japanese, right?"

"No... I'm Britannian." He says with a strange look in his face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm kind of... running from my brother, but I got lost, so I can't find him and my cousin."

"Same here! I'm lost too."

"Well, what about we make each other company while they look for us?"

The girl nods, happy that she found a new friend. They spent hours playing in that park and the girl almost doesn't felt the time passing. They hear someone calling her and she see her family there, worried. She runs towards they, crying from happiness and she tells them everything that happened. Her family thank the boy for helping her and they start to look for the boy's family. Suddenly a black haired girl appears and jumps at his back.

"Oni-chan, you shouldn't make your wife so worried like that."

They all look back and there's a boy and a maid there. After some explanations, everything is explained, with the maid thanking Kallen's family. They all prepare to leave, but Kallen doesn't want to leave her new friend yet.

"Can't we meet again?"

"Are you trying to get oni-chan away from me?" The other girl says, holding the boy's arm,

"No, I..."

"What about next week, in the same park?" The boy says, while he looks at the maid, that nods with a smile.

"Really? Can I? Please mom."

"Okay, but only if Naoto goes with you."

The girl can barely stand in her happiness and she says a farewell to the boy and his family, looking forward to the next time.

* * *

"He'll surely come, you will see, oni-chan."

"I'm just saying that he might doesn't come. Look Kallen, his father is a very important person, so he probably has a strict schedule."

"But he promised!"

"Okay, okay. Just don't cry if he doesn't appears."

Different from the other day, it is a very bright and hot day, so she is wearing shorts and a red t-shirt, as well as a pink purse. The boy is a little late, but she knows that he is going to appear.

"There he is." Naoto says, pointing at the entrance.

Kallen looks at where he is pointing and she sees him, just like he promised. They played for the whole day and they arranged to meet in this same place in the next week.

* * *

This same schedule passes for a few months, with the two just getting closer and closer. He visited her house and even slept there and even Naoto and their mother started to really like him. They would do almost anything together: eating, watching TV, playing and even taking a bath together (she doesn't cared if he would see her naked, different from the other guys).

December was coming and she discovered that it would be his birthday, so she was made for him a little cake and he invited her to go to his house for the birthday party and she accepted. It is a party where you have to wear traditional Japanese clothing, so her mother made an awesome yellow kimono for her to use at the party. Naoto would go with her and the mother told they to behave there, since some important persons would be there as well.

They arrive at a shrine that looked a little old, but was really big. There they find some men using suits and with a serious face, but Kallen wasn't looking for those people, but for her special friend. When she finds him, he is sitting in the traditional Japanese way, surrounded by some men and some children. He is wearing a black kimono, with his brother wearing a white one at his side.

He is receiving some salutations for his birthday from everyone and he is answering them all politely and with a small smile. The moment he sees Kallen, he opens a big smile and his brother, noticing that she arrived, helps him to take care of all the guests around they, so they can talk with each other. After everyone is gone besides his brother and his cousin, she gets near him and hugs him.

"You came." He says, happy.

"Did you doubted it?"

"Of course not. Hi, Naoto."

"Don't worry about me, just focus on her."

"Okay."

"This is all so beautiful! This whole place is amazing! And you are..." She gets red before she can say anything else.

"This is all thanks to father. He wanted to show me to everyone at his work, so he planned all this."

"He never showed you to they?"

"It's because I wasn't his son, yet."

"How can someone don't be a son before and now he can?"

"I was only officially adopted some days ago and he wanted to show me to everyone, so..."

"I get it."

"Okay. Do you want to eat something? There's a lot of food in that table."

They spent the whole day together and every time he had to do a little talk with some adult. All the time, his cousin was looking at thy to "make sure that she isn't doing anything with his future husband.

"Isn't she your cousin?"

"Not by blood, remember? Besides, it's just talk from her, I'm not going to marry her, I think."

At night they watched together a firework show. She looks at his face and she sees something strange: a little bit of sadness, like the fireworks where making him sad. Kallen decided that she won't let he shows such a face again, so she will always be at his side.

"Hey."

"What..." He can't continue because of a kiss that she lands on his mouth.

"Happy birthday."

"Th-thanks." He says with a red face.

She rests her head in his shoulder and, together and holding each other hands, they watch the rest of the show. This time, however, he doesn't have any sadness.

**2010 A.T.B**

A lot of time passes and those two are still meeting each other,but this time as an official couple. She is waiting for him inside the building, wearing a little blue dress that he said that he liked one time. After a while, something covers her eyes and she already knows what it is.

"I know that it's you."

"I imagined." He says, appearing before her. He makes her smile as usual, but today he carries a little bag with him. "I've got something for you."

"Really? That's so sweet of you."

He hands her the bag with a smile and she opens it to find a golden necklace. It is shaped like a hearth and it has a purple stone in the middle, the same purple as his eyes.

"It's so beautiful! I loved." She says while she puts it around her neck.

"I'm glad that you liked."

She looks at him, happy and she sees that golden chain around his neck. Since they met, he was always using that thing around his neck, but he never showed it to her.

"You never showed me your necklace."

"Really? Well, it's not that much."

He took it off and shows to her: a little golden frame, but without any portrait inside it.

"Why do you carry it all around?"

"It was from my mother."

"Your real mother?"

"I've never met my real mother. It used to be from a woman that saved me, but she died right after that, giving me this to remember her." He shows that sad expression again.

Kallen grabs his shoulders and she kiss him, so he can't make such a face. It isn't the perfect solution, but is the best that a ten years old girl can think. After they get separated, both are smiling to each other, knowing that they can rely on each other.

"Promise me that we'll always be together." She says while she hands to him her little finger.

"I promise." He says, interlacing his own little finger in hers.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Kallen**_

The television is on, but I am barely awake now, so I am not watching it, but it is saying something about the Black Knights and Zero, like all the channels. Yesterday I arrived home and I just took everything and I literally fainted in the bed. It's so good to just lie here, without getting up...

I hear the sound of something breaking and I finally wake up. I put a robe around my body and I go check it out, seeing that one of the maids broke a candelabrum in the middle of the corridor. The worst part is that the maid is my mother.

"Kal...Mistress. Sorry, I didn't wish to awake you." She says to me.

"Just clean it up fast. I have to leave for school soon."

"You have been attending school quite a bit lately. Making any friends?"

"That1s hardly any of your business!" And I slam the door when I enter my room again.

The moment I enter and she can't hear me, I start to cry. How could she stays here after all the bad treatment that I give to her? I look at a portrait from when I was nine: the picture burned a part, but originally it showed four people: me, Naoto, my mother and...him. Now the picture only shows my family, since his part is burned, what makes me feel sad. I can't remember his name and I can barely remember his face now, but I remember a lot of moments that we spent together.

While I look at it, I pick up a little trunk that is next to the picture. Inside there, my most precious treasures are stocked: an old watch that used to belongs from Naoto and the necklace that he gave to me a month before the invasion of Japan. While I look at it I have the feeling that I saw that same purple not so long ago and, after some thought, I put it around my neck.

* * *

It's pretty late at night now and I am using my new uniform from the Black Knights. Tonight we are going to fight some drug dealers that are introducing a new drug: Refrain, a drug that makes you live again the happiest moments. The drug is extremely popular among the Japanese, since happy moments are so rare nowadays. We wait at the entrance of the storehouse and Zero makes us a signal, and now it is show time. The lights are gone inside the building and we enter in, while a record of gunshots is played. We take our positions to create a scene (a very important thing, according to Zero) and when the lights goes on, we can see the scared faces of all the men inside the room.

"Impossible! They are..."

"The Black Knights!"

I can hear everyone laughing now, as I notice that I am inside the classroom and I was sleeping. I can feel my face all hot and I sit down again, saying an apology to the teacher.

"It's not like you to sleep in class like that, what's wrong?" Shirley asks me after the class is over.

"Well... I..."

"You should learn something from Lucian, you know? He's an expert at sleeping at class."

"He isn't sleeping right now, is he?" Kallen looks at Lucian, who is, apparently, looking at the sky from the window.

"Yes, he is." Shirley says, showing a face of disappointment. "The worst part of it is: his grades are the best in the whole class, only Nina can compete with him."

"Wait, he has a perfect mark in any sport and he is intelligent too?"

"Yes, it's just like that. God can be so selfish sometimes: so many guys that need qualities and he has all of them. And he also has all the girls in the school looking for him." Rivalz says, but looking at Shirley's face, she adds something. "But he rejects them all nowadays."

* * *

I yawn out loud, thinking that a double life is sure tiring. I'm standing in the front of the Student Council room, preparing to enter it, but I can hear a commotion inside.

"Stop it! I'm not kidding! When I get rid of those ties, I'm going to kill you all!"

"Sorry Lucian, but those are the president orders."

"Like you aren't enjoying this at all!"

I enter the room and I see Lucian tied to a chair with everyone, besides Nina, around him and they are painting his face. They all seems to be using cat-themed clothes, besides Lucian.

"Good meowning." Milly says.

"Good...morning? What it's this all about?"

"It's our welcome party for Arthur as the official pet of the Council."

"Sounds... like fun."

"I set up some stuff for you too Kallen, right there." Shirley points at a hanger filled with clothes and cat-stuff.

"Kallen doesn't needs a mask at all, she's already good as she is."

As Lucian says that, I feels my face goes red and Shirley hits his head with her punch. Now that I think about it...

"Hey Lucian, how did you faced armed terrorists and you got caught like that?"

"Terrorists don't have Suzaku or Milly with they." He says as he continue to try getting out of his ties.

"I wasn't that much of a help, right Suzaku?" Milly looks at him, but she shows a strange face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm glad. That we can all be together like this again. You know... at that incident, I really thought that I was going to lose you all."

"Hey, tears aren't allowed in this place of fun." Rivalz grabs Suzaku and they both go to the ground.

After that, we all start to laugh and I start to think what would had happened if Zero hasn't saved us all. Zero... each second that I spent at his side makes me more and more impressed about him. Not only his tactical abilities are amazing, but his fighting skills are also impressive, armed or unarmed, he is a one-man army.

Ever since we made our debut at the hotel, all the world is only speaking of the Black Knights. We became allies of the weak, just like Zero proclaimed to the world. Terrorists who use civilians as shields, corrupt politicians, abusive soldiers: they all became our enemies. If law wouldn't punish them, we will. In the blink of an eye, we became heroes and our support grew, but no one admitted his support publically, since Zero killed prince Clovis. Many among us wish to know who he really is, myself included, but if we push it too hard, he might disappear and without him, we would vanish.

* * *

I am home now and seems like I have a visit. As I get down, I see Milly standing at the entrance, with my mother at her side.

"President?"

"I'm just here to give you something."

"Where should I show her: the parlor or perhaps..." my mother asks.

"We'll be at my room!"

"When I heard that you would have a friend here, I was sure that it would be a boy." My stepmother says, getting down. "You arrive home late and you have been missing school as well, not to mention all your visits to the ghettos. You are lucky that your father is at the homeland." He looks at my mother with a despised look at her face.

"You are the one who enjoys his absence more, aren't you?"

Before she can answer, I hear something breaking besides me and I see that a vase is at the floor, completely broken.

"Your imbecile! Can't you do anything right?" My stepmother screams at my mother.

"I'm so sorry Milady."

"The only thing that you are useful is selling your own body, your Eleven!"

"Quite a complicated home life, right?"

Milly and me are inside my room now, after the scene at the entrance. She is holding a bag that seems to be holding papers.

"What did you wanted to give me?"

"My grandfather asked me to give you this." She handle a little envelope with the words "Ashford Academy", as well the symbol of the school. "Your school transcripts since middle school. I thought that it would be better to give it to you off the school."

"So my secret is out?"

"Only to me, but you can be assured that I'm not going to tell anyone about you being a half-breed."

"Thanks." I close my eyes for a minute. "That maid from before... she is my blood mother."

"I see... it must be hard for you with your mother and stepmother inside the same house."

"Yeah..." I grab the necklace that I received a long time ago and Milly notices.

"What's this?"

"A present, given by a friend."

"Really? Is he a boy? When did you..."

"He's probably dead by now."

"I see... I'm sorry."

* * *

"A huge quantity of Refrain?"

"That's right. As soon as the Burais are stocked, we are going to hit the base and destroy all the drug."

"The Black Knights sure are popular, aren't they?"

"Well, we are the heroics knights of justice. I'll call you later to tell you more, okay?"

I am in a park of the settlement and I was talking with Ohgi about the operation that is going to be handled tonight. As soon as I hang up, I can hear some delinquents beating a Japanese guy besides me. Before I can do anything to stop they, I feel a hand at my shoulder, who turns out to belong to Lucian.

"There's five of them and you are alone, so I don't think that you would stand a chance."

"So I should just stand still and do nothing?"

"Take a good look at that Japanese." He points with his head to a hot-dog car nest to they. "If you interfere, he won't be able to sell anything around here anymore. I know that it is horrible, but we can't help him now."

Wait a second, did he just said "Japanese"? He is the first Britannian that I hear saying that word. Before I can asks him about it, those punks walk toward us.

"Do you got a problem with that, pretty boy? You aren't feeling sorry for this Eleven, are you?"

"Of course not. They feel the same way as we do, right guys?"

"Not quite. But you all are tired of beating up Elevens, aren't you?"

"Yeah, this is boring."

"Hey, let's go to the arcade."

"They got bored pretty quick, didn't they?" Lucian says.

I run to the guy in the floor and I asks if he is alright. The second he sees my school's uniform he forms a smile at his face.

"What can I get for you? How about a nice California Dog?" He notices Lucian. "Is he your boyfriend? I can get something for him too. I have Ice cream as well."

"We aren't a couple, but I would like a vanilla ice cream. What about you Kallen?"

I look at him, barely believing in what he is saying, but I see in his eyes that he wants me to play along.

"I... I want a chocolate, you it's okay."

"No problem, It'll take just a minute."

He starts to work on it, but he is a little slow because of his injures. I am looking at Lucian, but he is still smiling, like it was perfectly normal for a guy be bullied like that.

"Here it is: a vanilla and a chocolate ice cream. It'll cost..."

"Here, you can keep the change." He handles the guy some notes, a lot more money then the ice creams cost.

"Wait, but..." Lucian approaches the guy and he whisper, so low that only we can hear.

"As soon as you can, go to a pharmacy and buy something for your injuries, you understand me?" Lucian starts to go away. "Thanks for the ice cream."

"Y-yes! Thank you sir."

* * *

We are sited in a bench, enjoying our ice creams. I can't take my eyes away from Lucian, who is eating his ice cream with joy.

"It's going to melt if you don't eat quick."

"Why did you helped that man?"

"I can't stand injustice against anyone: Britannian, Japanese, etc."

"Why do you call them "Japanese"?"

"Since I know myself as a person, they are Japanese and no matter what Britannia says, I'm not going to call them Elevens."

I look admired by his behavior towards the Japanese. I never knew of this side of him and I am kind of enjoying it. I don't know why, but I am feeling that I have already been with him like this: sitting in a bench and talking. Of course, this is impossible, I never saw him before I entered the Student Council.

"You know, I've lived in Japan before the invasion."

"Really?"

"Yes, and I remember it like it was yesterday: the ghettos weren't just a lot of junk, but a whole city. His streets where alive and happy, as well as the Japanese. Now, it's only a symbol of desperation and destruction, the great "progress" that Britannia brought."

He says all this with a face that shows anger and sadness at the same time. I never knew that he had such feelings towards Japan and I can relate to what he is saying. I smile at him, imagining how strange fate is.

"Well, I have to go now." He gets up.

"Can I asks where are you going?"

"To the ghettos."

"What?"

"I need to visit an... old friend."

"Do you mind... if I tag along?

"Are you sure?" He looks surprised at me. "It's a dangerous place for a girl like you."

"I'm tougher than I look."

* * *

In the end, I convince him to let me go. We walk a little inside the ghetto until we reach our destination, when I just freeze. It's that park, the park where I met him!

"What's wrong?"

"Are you... going to meet your friend here?"

"No, I'm afraid that's impossible." He gives me a sad smile. "After all, my friend is most probably dead."

I only feel a sadness that I can't quite describe after hearing his words. So he lost an important person too and until today he remembers that person. My biggest desire is to comfort him, but I remember that he is Shirley's boyfriend, so I control myself. We sit in a rusty swing and we just stay there for some time, in silence.

"I... know how it is to lose someone important to you."

"It pains us, right?" He takes off something around his neck and looks at it. "And the only thing left are the memories of they."

I look at what it is in his hands and I fall from the swing.

"Hey, are you alright.?"

"Let me see this necklace!"

He shows me and I am sure now: the same shape, the same golden color and the same thin chain. It is His necklace, but this is impossible, unless...

I take off my own necklace and I look at his eyes: the same shade of purple, without any difference. I can barely breath now, wondering if it is really... no that can't be, he died... but I didn't received any information about...

He is still looking at me, confused by my reaction. Without saying anything, I show him my necklace and the purple rock in the middle. He is confused at the beginning, but he starts to show signals of recognition after a time, as well as a shocked face.

You are... you are that girl! I saved you in this very place... almost nine years ago! You are... that Kallen! I didn't..."

"I get up and I continue quiet, only looking at him. My precious friend, who I considered dead, was at my side this whole time! After that I can finally remember his name and relate his face to Lucian's. I didn't recognized him at the beginning because the Lucian in front of me is always wearing a kind, but a little bit sad, face, while the Lucian from my memories is always smiling and happy.

Tears rolls down from my eyes and I hug him, without caring about those years that we where separated and it looks like that we weren't apart for seven years, but just for a few weeks. After I calm myself a little, we start to talk about a lot of things, like we used to do, and I finally see the true Lucian: the same boy that was my first and only true love.

Even so, I fell a bit sad, knowing that we can't be like before. Sure, we will have a more deep relationship, but we can't be more than friends. Shirley is his girlfriend and I won't steal him from her.

He left me home at night and we promise to each other to talk again. As he goes away, I think about something that we might do together. But now I need to get ready for the operation.

* * *

"And that's what we are going to do. Any questions?"

"Why are we going to do this? It's really cool to be the hero, but I don't see why doing the police's work would..."

"We need the people to trust us, so for now we are going to do what I say, is that okay Tamaki?"

Zero just explained us what would be the operation tonight and everyone starts to get ready for it.

"Zero, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure Kallen, what it is?"

"I think that I have a new recruit for us."

"Is that so? Who he is?"

"His name is Lucian Lamperouge and he is..."

"Him?"

"Do you know him?"

"Well... let's just say that I'm very close to him."

"I see... so you know about his abilities, right?"

"Yes, I do have knowledge about his... qualities." He thinks for a while. "I'll think about it."

"Thanks Zero."

I knew that Zero would want a person like him in the Black Knights. What surprised me thought, was the fact that he knows Lucian. How could Zero knows him?

We are waiting for Zero to give us a signal that we can break in. We are all hidden in a alley a little far from the warehouse where they are keeping the drug. Now I have a Burai, a Glascow modified by the Japanese, so this whole think should be easy.

We see the signal and we move forward to the entrance. How Zero enters the deposit, I have no idea, but he must have some tricks inside his sleeve to do all those things.

Everyone start to shoot the door and we break inside, shooting everyone in sight. The dealers try to fight back, but they run like the rats they are the second they see my Burai. I shoot them all and I run after them to finish my job, but they close a door, trying to stop my advance. My Knightmare just passes through the door and I stop, seeing what was inside.

People suffering from the use of the Refrain, and they all are Japanese. I can believe how low anyone can be to use the despair of a country only to make money, but I think that is exactly what Britannia did seven years ago and continues to do until now.

"Careful! It's dangerous to run like that."

I look down after hearing a known voice and I see her: my mother. She falls to the floor and I catch her before she hits the floor. I look at her in the hands of my Burai and I see that she is under the drug's effects.

"Naoto, please! Keep an eye in your little sister. Specially when Lucian-kun arrives."

How weak of a woman you can be? First you give in to a man, to Britannia and now to drugs? Naoto is gone! Forget about..."

I feel my Burai shaking and I see a Knightmare from the police shooting at my right arm, destroying it. I start to run from it, but it continues to shoot at me and I try my best to protect that woman. I try to fight back, but the enemy destroys my machine gun and I can't let her gets hurt. She is always in my way, no matter what I do...

A bullet gets in one of my legs and the Burai goes to the floor. My mother is on the floor now, saying my name and from oni-chan. The Knightmare continues to shoot, using all his bullets, but he don't get her. He picks a knife and he prepares to finish me off.

"I'm here for you Kallen. Like I've always have been."

After her saying that I finally realize: she suffered all those years just to stay close to me, even after all my stupidity against her. I can't believe how much of a fool I was for treating her like that. For my sake she... she...

The police's Knightmare grabs me and he is going to finish me up, but I can't make anything works. This can't end like this, with me barely able to defend myself and without accomplish anything important. Suddenly an explosion happens besides me and I see the enemy's arm going into pieces.

Zero is there, holding a grenade launcher and prepared to shoot another one. Before the enemy can understand the situation, Zero shoot two more grenades, destroying the leg and hitting the chest of the Knightmare, killing its pilot. Before I can breath in relief, another Knightmare appears, shooting at Zero. He starts to run, avoiding all the bullets with a speed that no human can have, going towards the Knightmare. It's madness to go against a Knightmare using only a grenade launcher, but he jumps in the arm of the frame and destroys his head and while he is in the air, shoots the legs of the frame, making him fall in the ground.

I look at my mother and I see that she is alright, even after all this. Zero comes running in our direction, as well as everyone. I get out of the destroyed Burai, and I go in her direction. Zero is at her side, holding her hand and I just hug her, crying like a baby.

"Dawn Elevens."

Before I can even look back, I hear a gunshot and in the next second, Zero is holding his pistol, pointing at the point where the policeman was, and the same guy dead at the floor. It seems that Zero killed him before he could shot at anyone and now I own to him a lot more.

* * *

"It's an aftereffect of the drug. She can't talk too much. She'll recover eventually, but she needs time."

I just look at her, seeing how fragile she is now. After Naoto's death, I didn't wanted to see her, but I think now that she must have passed for a really hard time. I hold her hand, almost crying.

"So this is where you are, Kallen."

I look behind me and Lucian is there! He has a sad face and is holding a little vase with flowers. He puts it in the bed table and he puts his hand in my shoulder. How he discovered about this, I don't know, but I have an idea...

"Zero told you?"

"You... can say that."

"What is your connection to him?"

"I promise that I'll talk Kallen, but not now."

We both look at her and I still can't believe in my stupidity. She was sentenced to twenty years in prison for what she has done. I make a silent promise that I will change everything in Japan so, when she comes back, we can be together, like a real family, so I beg to her to wait a little.

"Hang in there Kallen. My daughter..."

I hold his hand stronger and I can feel Lucian's presence behind me, giving me support. No matter how he is related to Zero, I am really glad that he is with me now. It is funny that days ago we barely talked to each other and now he is the one giving me support in a situation like that. I am really grateful for him. I really hope that he join us in the Black Knights and I want to know how he is connected to Zero, but, for now, I just want him at my side.

_**Lucian**_

I am inside my office in the Black Knights hideout and I am still thinking in what will be my next step. Now Kallen knows that Lucian is related to Zero and I can't use Geass on her after that discovery... I can't believe that she is the same girl of my childhood, but after some further examination, I was able to see that girl in her. I didn't told anyone or questions about her would appear, so I kept it a secret.

I was really sad to see her mother like that, specially after my discovery. Her mother was always wearing a smile and her only joy in the world were her sons. I asked Ohgi about Naoto and he told me that he died fighting Britannia, so that must explain Kallen's will to save Japan. The only remaining question is: what should I do regardless his request to bring Lucian to the Black Knights. After some thought, I call het to my office and I put my mask on, ready for the show.

"You wanted to see me Zero?"

"Yes Kallen, come in and take a seat." I say, pointing to a chair in front of me. "I have a good, a bad and a notice that I'll let you decide if it's good or bad."

"Okay."

"The good news is that I really think that another man like me would be a great asset to the Black Knights."

"So you'll allow Lucian to enter the organization?"

"The bad news is that Lucian can't join the Black Knights."

"Why not? I don't know what kind of relation you two have, but I'm sure that I can convince him, I know!"

"As for the third news..." I take off my mask and I show her my face. "That's the reason why he can't join the Black Knights."

"You... you where Lucian this whole time? But how...?"

"It's a very complicated story, believe me, and now I only have two choices: or I kill you if you can't keep my secret or I trust you my secret and we continue to live our normal lives."

"You... lied to me!"

"I know Kallen, but it was necessary. If Britannia knows about my identity, imagine what they could to those near me. I can't allow such things to happen."

"That's why you cover your face?"

"That's right. So, what are you going to do? You'll rely behind me or..."

"You saved my life three times! Of course I'll stay at your side."

Well, that takes care of one problem and now I can move forward. Kallen will be my most loyal soldier and I know that I can trust her, from the deepest part of my soul. The only thing left is to take care of Marianne, Cornelia and my stupid brother that I can finally free Japan. Nothing can stop me now!


	9. Stage 9: The End of the Purity

Stage 9:

The end of the purity

**August 08, 2010 A.T.B**

"We are going to the Narita Mountains?"

"Only you two."

The two boys seems happy about those news, since it's been quite a time from the last time they traveled.

"Aren't you coming with us, Father?" Lucian asks.

"I have important business here in Tokyo, so I'll have to pass this time. But Ikutsuki and Yukari are going with you two."

Ikutsuki Himura is the main servant of the Kururugi Shrine and he is the private teacher of Suzaku since he was born, he even helped Lucian to understand the Japanese culture. He is 43 years old, has a short gray hair and serene brown eyes. In his early years he used to be a soldier and he could be even a general by now, but he decided to serve Genbu as his servant, a way to pay for something that happened in their youth.

Yukari Akiyama is the maid of the family and, mostly, the one who watches over the boys, preventing they from getting in danger. She is 26 years old and has black hair, hazel eyes and a very gentle smile. Suzaku has a little crush on her and is always trying to get her attention. She is a calm and considerate person and loves the two boys deeply.

"Hey, oni-san, why don't you invite your girlfriend to go with us?"

"She is in a trip with her family, remember?"

"I see. Kaguya is going with us?"

"Unfortunately, she has to be present at a meeting of the Kyoto Group alongside her mother, so she can't go with you two."

"I imagine how sad she is going to be when she discovers that we went on a trip without her." Lucian says.

"Specially for missing the chance to sleep with her husband, right Lucian?" Suzaku implies.

"What are you talking about? I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"Imagine of Kallen-chan would think if she discovers something like..."

"Just shut up!"

Everyone laughs, barely imagining that in two days, all those peaceful moments would come to an end.

**August 10, 2010 A.T.B**

Ikutsuki's cell phone rings at night and he goes out of the hotel's room to answer it. The last two days were spent visiting the mountains and enjoying the city, but the boys where sad that their father couldn't come. Ikutsuki enters the room and starts to whisper with Yukari about something, making Lucian worried for some reason.

"Boys, get all your things in the bags, we're leaving."

"Why?"

"Just do what we are saying, okay?"

"Where are we going?"

"To somewhere safe."

"What happened?"

"Your father wants you two far away from the coast, at all costs."

"But why he would want such a thing?" Suzaku asks, but anyone answers.

Lucian has the feeling that he knows what is going on. Some days ago, he heard his father discussing about the actions of Britannia and the boy discovered that Britannia has been moving its troops and vehicles for quite some time. Genbu feared that Britannia might attack Japan sooner or later and he was worried about it. If they were going far from the ocean, then that means...

"It's happening, right?"

"What do you mean, Lucian?"

"You know what I'm saying very well." Suzaku looks at his brother and Ikutsuki, barely able to understand.

"You know about this whole situation?"

"Yes, Ikutsuki-sensei."

"I see... Then I must tell Suzaku too." He stops the car and looks at the boy's green eyes. "Britannia is attacking Japan."

"WHAT?! But why?"

"Probably because of the Sakuradite in Mount Fuji. They are invading Tokyo in this very moment, alongside the whole east coastline of the country."

"A full invasion force? How long can the army hold them?"

"You ask questions like a general would ask, Lucian." The man sighs. "Yes, it's a full invasion and I don't know if they can hold on much longer."

"Why?"

"Knightmares. A full new generation of them and it seems that the Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein, is the one leading Britannia."

This name gave chills to Lucian, the man feared by every military in the world, Waldstein was responsible by the establishment of three Areas until now and is considered "Lancelot's resurrection". Lucian looks out at the window and he sees airplanes coming in the direction of the city, a lot of them, flying in a formation. While the boy continues to watch them, they all start to drop bombs at the city.

"They are attacking here? Why the anti-aircraft battery hadn't took them out?" Yukari says, confused.

"We need to get out of the city." He says, but now the streets are full of people, in panic, making their exit almost impossible by car. "Let's go by feet."

They get out of the car and start to get by foot, with Yukari carrying Suzaku and Ikutsuki carrying Lucian. Followed by the first wave of bombs, a second wave comes, but this time a different kind of airship appears and from it Nightmares start to fall into the city. The Japanese army was on standby, but they weren't waiting from such a force, specially the Knightmares.

"They are killing even the civilians!"

The Knigthmares are shooting everyone on sight, either enemy's soldiers or civilians. The group enter a building through a side entrance and they go to the underground of it, alongside some people. After everyone gets inside a deposit in the deepest part of it, Ikutsuki and some of the mans seal the entrance and all the people inside start to talk about what happened. They all fear for they loved ones and ask about who would do such a thing.

"They sent their air force to bomb the city and, enjoying the confusion, they sent the ground force to finish what is left. Quite a strategy." Lucian says.

"I agree. I might not like it, but Waldstein isn't a fool, he knows what he's doing with all of this, we are just unlucky to have him as an enemy. He does justice to the name "Scourge of God" after all."

"But we have Tohdoh-sensei! And Father!" Suzaku says in tears while Yukari holds him.

"Yes, but they don't have the technology of Britannia at their side. Besides, if that man is leading them, you can bet that he has some of the Knight of Rounds at his side." Lucian says.

"Lucian, remember me to put you in the command of the army when we can get out of this city."

"And how are we going to do this?"

"Let's wait until tomorrow to find out our plan. For now, let's just wait the worst of the battle pass."

* * *

It was a tense night, but Suzaku and Yukari where able to sleep, with him holding her body tightly, but Lucian couldn't sleep, in part because the sounds of battle and destruction outside and in part due to his thoughts about the battle.

"What are you thinking?" Ikutsuki asks him.

"If there's a way to defeat the enemy's troops."

"How can a child think in such things?"

"I don't know. It just comforts me, making strategies and all."

"You always were an incredible person, always ahead of the others kids. I've never imagined Tohdoh losing at chess to a child."

"Yeah, maybe so... Hey, do you really thinks that we can get out of the city?"

"I don't know Lucian, but we'll have to try."

"Do we still have to go to the countryside?"

"No, we are going to Tokyo to meet your father. The whole country must be like what we saw by now. It should be a little more safe near him."

After that he goes to sleep, but Lucian continues his vigil during the whole night, thinking about what Britannia did. He picks his necklace, imagining how just one country can spread so much destruction and malice.

**August 11, 2010 A.T.B**

It is impossible to tell, but is past midday now and everyone still haven't gone out of the underground deposit. It's very silent now, without any sign that a battle happened yesterday, but this don't signals to a good thing. The Britannian Army could still be there, looking for survivors among the dead. Ikutsuki knows that is dangerous, but they have to try getting out, so they can reach Tokyo safely.

Despite what the others think, the group gets out and start to go to the surface. They find the door to the outside open, but Ikutsuki insists in going first, just to make sure. Outside, they all see a scene of destruction: the whole city destroyed, parts of the mountain depleted from its trees and corpses everywhere. Yukari cover Suzaku's eyes, but Lucian isn't even bothered by such view: he was used to see something like that, all thanks to the G-team.

They start to walk in the devastated streets of what used to be a city full of people and joy. Now, they can't even recognize the places that they visited two days ago.

Suddenly, Ikutsuki stops all of them and he points to a hole in a destroyed building, saying to the rest of them to hide. In the same second they see a Britannian patrol passing from where they passed. Only after they pass and everything is quiet again, Ikutsuki allows them to proceed. During all the time, they where in high alert, waiting that a patrol would pass at every alley.

It took quite a time, but they manage to get to the outskirts of the town, almost getting out, when they hear the sound of a bullet and Ikutsuki goes on his knees, bleeding from his shoulder.

"Looks like we have some dogs here guys."

Some Britannian soldiers appear before they, appearing from somewhere behind some wreckage. Looking behind them, other soldiers are rapping some girls that don't look to be more than 17 years old.

"Ohh, that one looks good, can I eat her?" One of them points to Yukari.

"Of course you can bro."

The soldiers don't look high officers, but just normal privates. They also look very young, with 18 or maybe 19. They approach the group with the guns up in their direction. Ikutsuki is thinking in what they are going to do, but the only answer that comes to his mind is...

"Yukari, take care of those boys. Lucian, I'm putting you in charge of protecting your brother and Yukari, do you understand?"

"What are you saying?"

"Don't ever forget about who you are. I know that I can leave them in your hands." After saying this he grabs the closest soldier and uses his own gun to shoot at some of the others. "RUN!"

They start to run as he continues to fight the soldiers on his own. The ones that were rapping try to get their guns, but the man aims at them first and he kills them all. He manages to avoid almost all the bullets, but one gets his shoulder again and one his arm. He gets rid of his human shield and starts to run and shoot at the soldiers, killing some more. He gets two bullets in the stomach and one in his right leg, but he doesn't stops and continue to kill them all. After the fight is over, he is standing alone, but with a lot of holes from the bullets that he took. Blood comes out of his mouth and he falls in the floor, barely breathing and feeling his eyes getting heavy.

"I leave it to you... Yukari... take care of those two..." And the man that taught Lucian about various subjects, the man that was a second father for Suzaku and the best friend of Genbu Kururugi dies with a smiling at his face, thinking that he finally paid everything that he owns to his best friend.

* * *

"We have to come back now!"

"We can't Suzaku, Ikutsuki-san said..."

"He can be dead by now if we don't come back!"

"If he's dead, we would make his sacrifice worthless if we end up dying."

"How can you say this Lucian? We need to..." The boy can't end his sentence as Lucian punches his face.

"Do you really think that I want to leave him?" He says with tears making their way at his face. "He said to me to protect you two, so I'm not going to allow you to come back, you understand?"

Suzaku looks at his brother and he nods. After this incident, they continue to walk in the woods, uncertain about what the future holds. Suzaku looks at his brother, thinking about the gigantic weight at his shoulders.

**August 13, 2010 A.T.B**

They walked during two whole days and they stop for a rest. They don't have any food, but they were able to drink from little wells and passages of water in the middle of the woods. They avoided roads, fearing that the Britannian Army might be there. The boys passed through a rigid training with Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh, but they are just children and they walked all the way until now. Lucian doesn't slept well at those nights, watching the place where they were hiding, so he is pretty tired by now, but he is trying his best to not show this.

After the rest, they continue to move and yukari looks at her map, trying to determine where they are. She is very good with maps, so she knows where they are by now and, according to her, they would be able to get home in a day or two at this rate.

"If no one stops us." Lucian says, moody.

After a long time, Lucian starts to fell something bad, like something is going to happen. Not so long after that, a lot of soldiers appear before their sights, gathering people in front of some sort of long hole. They prepare themselves and the shoot at the people, killing them all and making they fell in the hole. Yukari makes a noise and they are caught.

"It seems that I have a great number of people today."

"Who are you?" Lucian asks the one that seems to be a noble from Britannia.

"I am duke Calares from Britannian and I won't accept such disrespect towards me." He says as he steps at Lucian's head. "Now you are going to die, your impure creature."

The soldiers align the rest of the people in front of the hole, which is revealed to be an open ditch where a lot of corpses where. Yukari holds the two boys really close to her, imagining a way to save both from such a fate. Suzaku puts his face in her belly and Lucian stares at Calares with hate and anger. The soldiers get ready to execute them and she makes her decision. The second they fire at them, she pushes the boys a little and they avoid the bullets, but Yukari wasn't so lucky. They all fall together and the boys can't believe at what she did for them.

Suzaku is almost screaming, but Lucian covers his mouth and whisper to him, telling him to play dead. The two boys pass for a hard time, waiting for the soldiers to go away, but they only go at night, leaving everything in silence and darkness. The boys get up from the ditch and they are covered in blood and with the appearance of two beggars.

"She... she... she..." Suzaku tries to talk.

"Yes... she did it... for us."

Suzaku starts to cry, but he contain himself. He is trying his best to be as strong as his brother, but even Lucian can't hold on much longer

"Suzaku, don't hold yourself, because I'm not."

And both boys start to cry as aloud as they could. Lucian has saw such things before, but with people that he never knew, and Suzaku is taking it harder than his brother, after all, he is just a child and is in the middle of a total war.

**August 14, 2010 A.T.B**

The two boys are passing in a little road made of earth. The only problem is the corpses of people all along the way, making it harder for the two kids. Even if they close their eyes, the smell won't get away and it is terrible: the smell of death and destruction. In just a few days, Britannia didn't cared about civilians or soldiers, it just killed every Japanese in sight.

Lucian can only thinks about how terrible all of this is, to do such coward acts against those who can't fight back. He looks at the corpses and he stops when he notices a teddy bear without his head and a little girl next to him, without one of the eyes. Lucian almost throw up, but he is able to stop it.

"Try to don't look at they and you may avoid vomiting." Suzaku says.

"This is horrible! Those who kill someone should only try it against someone that can fight back, not those people!"

"I know brother. Believe me, I know."

**August 17, 2010 A.T.B**

"Finally, we have reached the city!"

"I couldn't agree more."

The two children arrives at the outskirts of Tokyo and they see the destruction left by the Britannian. There's a lot of soldiers, but Japanese soldiers that are here to hold the ground and don't let the enemy take Tokyo. The soldiers all have a tired face and when they see two boys barely able to stand in their feet, so they give water and food to they. After they explain who they are, they where taken to responsible for the defense of that part of the city and he recognizes them.

After a lot of calls and yells, he is able to get someone to get they to their father. After a trip where the boys see more of the destruction of the city, Lucian asks questions about the situation and the soldier that is driving answers them (Lucian was always good at convincing people). The first assault at Tokyo was repelled thanks to the antiaircraft batteries and the ground support, but hours later Britannia was able to get Knightmares in the city and the Japanese almost lost that fight, but Genbu Kururugi lead them to a victory. Now they are waiting for the enemy troops to arrive.

According to the same soldier, Kyoshiro Tohdoh was able to defeat the enemy as well in Itsukushima. With this, the morale of the Japanese's troops are high, with everyone thinking about a victory. If they could see the future...

The second they step out of the car, a man appears wearing a military uniform from the stairs. He seems to be in a hurry, since he is sweating a little and is breathing a little hard. The moment he sees the boys, he embraces they with all his strength, crying of relief.

"Thank God, you two are alright! I was so worried when I heard about the attack at Narita! Wait a second..." He looks at both. "Where are Ikutsuki and Yukari?"

"They are dead." Lucian says.

Genbu endures this information as he gets up and makes his sons to follow him. After they enter the Japanese parliament, which is been used as the command center, they see every man and woman inside the building in a fuss. A second attack is going to happen in Tokyo, and all the territories that weren't taken in the east coast, in just a few hours. Most of the north was taken in the first assault, but thanks to Genbu and Tohdoh, the center and the south were saved from the enemy's hands.

Everyone is preparing to face the enemy now. Genbu receives advices from his generals and subordinates and he decides what would be their course of action. Lucian hears everything and Suzaku tries to be optimistic, since they are now with their father, what could happen? Genbu was able to defeat Britannia once, so Suzaku was feeling himself safe, but he can't imagine what destiny reserved for Japan.

**August 24, 2010 A.T.B**

A week passes and the situation only gets worst. Tokyo was taken by the enemy and they lost the south islands as well, making the position of Japan really hard to deal. All the government and military staff had to evacuate to Kyoto and now they are creating a final line of defense to try to hold their ground, but almost all hope is lost by now.

Lucian, Suzaku and Kaguya are now together eating, but they barely talk to each other. It was a depressing week for all of them and, to make things worst, Kaguya's mother, Shizuka Sumeragi, is leading the troops at the battlefield. Kaguya really is worried about her mother and even Lucian can't make her better.

Late at night, Lucian can't sleep, so he decides to go to a bathroom to wash his face. In the way to the bathroom, he can hear his father talking to Kirihara about something. The boy tries his best, but he ends up hearing part of the conversation and he discovers something terrible: Shizuka is now dead alongside her soldiers.

With this, the only hope for the Japanese is the Chinese Federation, but they can't be contacted and, even if it was possible, it is uncertain if they are going to help. Lucian hears all this with his hearth almost stopping. He goes away to not hear anything else, but he can't get those words from his head. Kaguya is certainly going to cry and get in despair after hearing such a thing, but Lucian is more worried about the fact that she may become a political tool now that she is the last Sumeragi alive besides her brother, Rai Sumeragi. Lucian never met Rai, since he was taken by his father to Britannia years ago, but he knows that the boy can't even try to be the heir, since his father is a Britannian. Kaguya and him only share the same mother, but they are from different marriages of Shizuka.

Lucian looks at the night's sky and he takes a deep breath as he thinks about this whole situation. As he thinks about it, an old man appear from the building, making a irritating noise as he walks with his cane.

"Beautiful night, isn't?"

"I can't see such things now."

"I guess that no one can." He looks at the boy. "What's troubling you?"

"Besides the war, the killing and everything? I have no idea."

"I'm talking about now."

Lucian never knew why, but he tells the man everything about Kaguya and her problem. After he finishes, the old one thinks a little at the matter.

"You shouldn't tell her, you have to wait until someone else tells it and you can give her support and friendship."

"Well... thanks?"

The old man starts to leave, but he turns and says something:

"If you need me another time, go looking for the answer inside you."

And he lefts, like he was never there from the beginning. Lucian looks at the moon as he wanders how this could have happened, but the moon didn't gave him the answer.

**August 25, 2010 A.T.B**

Kaguya cries in despair for the loss of her mother. Kirihara, Genbu, Suzaku and Lucian are there, without saying a word to comfort her, not for not trying, but because they don't know what do you say to a seven years old girl that just had her mother killed. She continues to cry without a break and Suzaku finally approaches her and he puts his hand at her shoulder.

"Kaguya, I know that it hurts, but you need to calm down, just a little."

"I want her back! I want my mother back!"

Suzaku can't say anything to her, so he just continues to hold her shoulder as she cries. Deciding that he should do something, Lucian steps further to her.

"Kaguya, I..."

"It's all your fault! You and your people!"

"What...?"

"If it wasn't for Britannia, she would still be alive! All of you are responsible for her death!"

"Wait a second Kaguya." Kirihara interferes. "You know well that Lucian don't have nothing to do with all of this."

"He has! I wish that he and all Britannians don't exist! Why they don't all die?"

Everyone tries to calm her, but she continues to say those kind of things and Lucian leaves the room, without looking at her. At the outside, he looks at the sky, a clear and blue sky, a sky that isn't showing what the boy is feeling. If the sky were in accordance with his feelings, it would be a stomy and gray one.

"Listen, Lucian..." Suzaku appears, trying to say something, but he gets mute when he sees Lucian's face.

"Suzaku! I promise you, one day I will destroy Britannia!"

Suzaku doesn't says anything, but he gets closer to his brother and he embraces him.

**August 30, 2010 A.T.B**

"The situation is pretty bad right now, so I'm sending you two to the European Union." Genbu says.

"What do you mean with "pretty bad", father?"

"We are losing ground much faster than we predicted and we are going to need to work as a militia instead of a normal army. I don't want you two to be so close to the line of fire, so I am sending you two away."

"But father..."

"There's no "but" here! We need to get you two away, alongside with other children. You are all the future of this nation, not us, the old men. I know that it's hard, but you all need to endure it."

Later in that same night, Lucian wasn't able to sleep again, but this time he has Suzaku to join him. The two boys decide to talk to Genbu one more time to see if he changes his mind about sending them away. They don't want to be in another country while he fights for Japan and those two boys start to go to his provisory office.

There's something strange at the entrance of the office: the two guards that usually guard it are laying down in the floor. Lucian approaches one of them and he gets away from him, noticing that they are both dead. Worried, both boys enter their father's office and they find a man holding a gun pointed to Genbu.

In less than a second, the man tries to shoot at the kids, but Lucian grabs Suzaku and they are in the floor as the bullet goes through the air. Using this opening, Genbu tries to grab his gun, but the man is stronger than him and he throw him at the floor and tries to fire him again. Fortunately, Lucian appears and grabs his head and puts his fingers in his eyes, making the assassin drops the gun. The man throw Lucian at the wall and he grabs a short knife, with a bird sigil on it, and he throws it at Lucian, but the flesh that it finds isn't Lucian's, but Genbu's flesh.

The man goes to the floor, coughing blood and panting. He is barely able to stay at his knees, but he looks at Lucian with a strange face.

"I'm sorry, my boy... in the end... I wasn't... able to protect... you from them." And he falls on him.

The murderer picks another knife and he is ready to kill Lucian as well, but a huge sound is heard and a bloody hole appears at his back. Behind him, a tearful Suzaku starts to scream and to fire at his back with his own gun. Somehow he manages to hit all the shots at the man's back and he falls to the floor, dead before he could hit it.

Suzaku falls to the floor as well, just senseless, but the same can't be said about Lucian. The boy holds his father body as the most precious treasure and even when all the men arrive and try to make him leave Genbu, he doesn't releases him, fearing that he might not be able to see him again.

**September 01, 2010 A.T.B**

Without Genbu leading the Japanese, the war is almost lost. Most of the army is now hidden in the mountains or turning themselves to Britannia. Lucian and Suzaku are going together with Tohdoh to a hideout, where they can continue to resist against Britannia.

During the way they are attacked by Britannia, making the two boys to run away in the woods. Lucian runs as fast as he can and he only stops when he reaches a very deep part of the woods. Looking around, he notices that Suzaku isn't at his side, different of what he thought.

He looks for him during the whole day, but he isn't able to find his brother, making the boy go into a profound and terrific despair.

**September 11, 2010 A.T.B**

Lucian arrives at Kyoto and he finds the whole city destroyed by Britannia. The Japanese lost the war and now every resistance cell is declared to be terrorists as they change the name of Japan to "Area 11" and the Japanese to "Elevens". He holds a gun and some ammo, but he is hiding it from everyone, fearing about what the Britannian Army might do with him.

Lucian had to kill some soldiers and thieves that he encountered, but now he thinks that he can relax a little. The recommendation of the government is to leave the Japanese alone and to do nothing unless they attack first. Lucian thinks that is almost impossible for them to fight the Britannians, since they are all tired and broken from this stupid war.

He joins some other orphan kids that are living in some ruins of what used to be an old shrine. They join around a bonfire to get some heat and they all start to talk. When asked about his name and origins, Lucian simply says "I would like to know."

**September 13, 2010 A.T.B**

The days pass as he tries to survive in this world. The Britannians are focusing their effort of reconstruction in Tokyo, so it would take a long time until they move to Kyoto or other cities. Lucian is looking for food when he sees some Japanese raping young women. Lucian looks at them and he shoot, killing all of them and he just leaves the scene, not because of fear or anything like that, but because he wants to eat something before it gets dark.

The hours pass as he continues to move around the ruins. He don't stay at the same place for more than one night and he is always walking, hoping to find something that would make him want to live again.

That same night he is taken into a enormous sadness and he points his gun at his head and he shoots, but he miss. He took the gun out of the way at the exact moment as his wish to live was stronger as his will to die. He looks at the stars, wondering how could he be alive when so many people died and ,again, the moon doesn't answers.

**September 15, 2010 A.T.B**

While he walks in the buildings Lucian sees a curious scene: a little girl at the floor holding a bread, another girl around the same age trying to protect her and three older boys around they.

"Give this bread to us now." One of the guys says.

"It's our! We aren't going to give it to you." The girl standing says.

"You Britannians don't deserve to live!" One of the guys says as he approaches them.

The girl tries to kick him, but she miss and the other two starts to beat her without mercy. The other girl starts to cry, but she don't try to run away or to get up. The boys leave the other girl bleeding on the ground and they get near to the other girl and that is the moment that Lucian aims at them. Before they could even look back, they are all dead, bleeding on the floor.

"Please, don't hurt us!" The girl says as he goes toward them. "I'll give you this bread, but please, don't hurt us!"

Lucian gets to the unconscious girl and the other one drags herself near him. Lucian finally notices that she can't walk, so he couldn't run away from the thieves.

"I won't let you hurt her!" She says as she starts to fight the boy, but she is so weak to make any harm. Before the boy can say anything, she lies to the floor, passing out.

The girl awakes hours later and she sees a fire near her, giving heat to her tiny body. When she looks around, she sees the boy moving something up the fire.

"Good night." He says. "You slept for some hours now."

"Where I am?"

"Someplace safe."

"Wait, where's Alice?"

"You mean her?" He points to a mount near her and she sees that Alice is there with some bandages at her body. "I treated her with some wraps that I found."

"Why would you...?"

"I couldn't leave you two there. Besides, you two seemed to me that you could die from hungry." He says as he hands her something that looks like food.

"Thanks!" She starts to eat, but she looks at Alice, guilty.

"I have some for her, don't worry." After some time of silence, Lucian asks. "What two Britannian girls would be doing here at Kyoto?"

"I live here since I was 5 with my mommy and my daddy. I don't know about Alice."

"You've met her recently?"

"Yes, some days ago. She helped me and gave me food."

"What do your parents do? And why they aren't around?"

"They used to be diplo... diplo..."

"Diplomats?"

"Yes! That's it!"

"What do you mean for "used to"? They aren't around anymore?"

"They have gone to the sky and they became stars."

After that they stop speaking for a long time, long enough to make Lucian thinks about his situation. It would be more dangerous to just leave those two alone and to continue his way, but the feeling of leaving two girls alone like that wasn't a very pleasant sensation. After a long reflection, he makes his decision.

**September 19, 2010 A.T.B**

"Hurry up! You are slowing us down."

"I'm girl, not a machine!" Alice says.

She recovered pretty well from her injuries and now she is walking alone. But she walks slowly and even with Lucian carrying Emily, he is going faster than her.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't have any idea."

After a lot of reflection, Lucian decided to follow a certain old man advice: he looked for the answer inside him in order to find the him. All he could think is that now his anguish isn't so strong and it is all due to those girls. They helped to fill with hope and a little happiness inside the broken boy and now he is going to do anything to protect them, at all costs.

They wandered for some days, but Lucian wasn't able to find that old man. He wondered why he would look for him, but that is the only solution to his problems, so he decided to try. Three days passed and he is still looking for him, always mulling about the meaning of those words of him.

Now the boy is walking without see and Alice complains that she is tired and needs a rest, making everyone stops one more time. Looking where they are, Lucian recognizes the building that he stayed with his family when they where in Kyoto and now is a bunch of ruins.

Having a glimpse of inspiration, he decides to look inside the building, so he warns the girls and he enters, picking his gun to defend himself. He goes to the very same point where he first met the man, only to find it all empty. A sentiment of frustration and anger is what the boy fells and he kicks a rock, only to add pain to the equation.

"That wasn't very smart."

Lucian looks where it was an empty space and he finds the person that he was looking for. He is wearing traditional Japanese clothes and he walks using a cane. When Lucian approaches him, he can smells alcohol, like he was drinking.

"You are that man."

"You are that kid too. Of course I am, who did you expect?"

"Will you help me?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"Of how are you feeling right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Last time, the only colors that you could see where the colors of war and despair. Now, which colors fill your hearth?"

"Those girls need me! If I don't help them, they can die! I don't care about what color is my hearth!"

"That's the answer that I wanted to hear." As the boy looks confused, the man explains. "I wanted to take you as my pupil, but I can only teach about how to protect something, not to attack without any reason. That time, you couldn't protect anyone because of all the hate inside of you, very different from now, isn't it?"

"Yes... You are right."

"So, do you want help? Do you want to learn how to protect the things that matter?"

"Yes, I want!"

"So for now on, you'll call me "Sensei" and will take care of my house, cleaning it and cooking for us, understand?"

"I... don't know how to cook or clean."

"You'll have to learn. Now let's go."

They start to get out of the building to get the girls, but Lucian stops suddenly, making the old man looks at him.

"What's the problem?"

"I don't know your name."

"I see... for you, you can call me Myagi-sensei."

And then a new chapter at Lucian's life begins and, looking back at all that he suffered, he finally dare to have a little bitt of something that he thought that he would never appreciate: hope for the future.

* * *

_**Hi guys, here's a message from the author. The character Shizuka Sumeragi was created by NSBleach00 in his story "Code Geass: Colorless Memories" and he allowed me to use the character, so here goes some claps for him. (claps and cheers sounds here) . All I did was to modify the character a little. **_


	10. Stage 10: First Victory

**Stage 10:**

**First Victory**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"They are having a lot of fun, right?"

"Yes, it's good to see Nunnaly so happy nowadays."

It is the second time that I came to visit those two, my "sisters" Nunnaly and Euphemia, and this time I brought Emily and Alice together. According to Euphemia, Nunnaly is feeling very lonely without anyone around to play with her, so I asked if I could brought them. My sisters were very formal at the beginning, but now they are talking to each other like there isn't such a thing like nobility or something like that.

Euphemia and me are sitting bellow a tree, watching those three talk and have fun. It's very good to stop a little from all the Zero thing and to spent time like that, relaxed and without any worries. The only problem is going to happen when I tell Shirley about the fact that I came here... well, that has to wait for now.

"Hey, Lucian..."

"Yes?"

"What do you think about what Zero is doing?"

"Why would you ask this?"

"I don't know... sometimes I really forget that you aren't my brother. I think that I just wish that you were."

It bothers me when she talks like that, but I can't tell her the truth about who I really am. I have managed to avoid being questioned about the fact that I have the same face as Lelouch, but she is always looking at me with a strange way, like she suspects something and it gives me chills.

"Well... I don't know what to say about him."

"Why?"

"Everyone says that he is a defender of the weak, which I appreciate, but he seems to like to appear in a very theatrical way, what is a little to much... ridiculous."

"I see..."

After that we start a silence that seems a bit heavy to me, but I don't know what to say to break the ice. I feel very relaxed around Nunnaly, but with Euphemia is different, there's always this strange feeling that I have when I am around her, the same sensation from when I am in danger, making me wonder why. Different from her sister, she doesn't appears to be a skilled pilot or even a very good tactician, but the feeling is there, warning me about some invisible danger.

"Well, what do we have here?"

We both look at who arrived and I see him: Lelouch. I can fell the anger and hate coming right from inside my mind. This man is the symbol of everything that I despise about Britannia and the only person that I really want dead. This is the first time that I meet him face-to-face, but for me it's like we are enemies from a long time ago.

"Lelouch, what o you want here?"

"Calm down little sister, I'm just here to see my "clone". After all, it is not every day that you can find something like this."

I stand up and we both look at each other eyes and I try my best to get calm. Somehow I can fell that he dislike me as well, but I bet that for different reasons.

"So we finally met, your Highness."

"It seems so. Aren't you the guy that defeated those Elevens?"

"The terrorists? Yes, it was me and Suzaku Kururugi."

"Finally an Eleven do something useful, right?"

"Lelouch!" Euphemia says with a tone a little angry.

"What?" He notices my sisters. "And who are those girls, may I ask?"

"My sisters, Emily and Alice."

The temperature around the younger girls seems to have dropped a lot when Lelouch arrived, with all the girls quiet. Different from Euphemia and Nunnaly, my sisters aren't feeling comfortable around him. He looks at Emily with a arrogant look and I think that I would do anything to just beat him right now.

"A broken one? How despicable."

"Oni-sama! Stop being rude."

"That's the truth. If she had been born in royalty, she would be just a toy to the lions."

I start to go at him, but Euphemia stops me from doing it. My greatest desire is to break all of his bones and to give him to some lions, but I think in a better way to beat him up.

"Say, your Highness, why don't we play a little of chess?"

"And why we should ?"

"I've always heard about your ability and I thought that I could learn something from you, your Majesty."

He smiles arrogantly as he agrees, thinking that he can easily defeat me. We go to a room and we start the game, with all the girls following us. At the beginning, he shows a confident face, but it slowly turns into a more serious one. More at the end, he is really showing some concern about his situation, but in the end...

"Check-mate." I say.

He looks at the chess pieces, barely believing that I won against him. He gets up, throw the pieces at the floor and tries to punch me, but I avoid it easily. He falls to the floor and he gets on his knees, looking at me with hate.

"You cheated!"

"How can anyone cheat in a chess game with witnesses?"

He gets up again, attacking me one more time, but I avoid him again. He falls again, but this time his head hit the floor with a strong noise. He yell for some guards and they appear some seconds later, getting my arms and now I can't flee. Before Lelouch can do anything else, Euphemia stands in front of me.

"Stop it, Lelouch! Look at you now."

"Shut up! Get out of my way!"

"No."

That's when he hits her face without restrain, sending Euphemia to the floor. I hit the legs of the guys holding me and I am free from them, going at Lelouch as fast as I can, which is pretty fast. I grab him and now he is on the floor, with my foot at his chest.

"You'll be executed for this, your commoner!"

"What in hell is happening here?"

I look at the door and I see Marianne, Cornelia, Guilford and a bunch of guards with them. Guilford goes against me, but I dodge his hands, making him fall on top of Lelouch.

"Stop!" Euphemia, Nunnaly and my sisters scream at the same time.

Marianne asks again what happened, with Lelouch demanding my arrest for assaulting him and the girls telling the truth. At the end Marianne believed in our side and she apologies to me for his stupid son.

"Mother, you can't..."

She slaps his face with all her might and he goes back, looking at the mother with a angry look. Before he can say anything else, Marianne slaps his face more and more, leaving it all red. After she is done, she orders Lelouch and Cornelia to come with her and she suggests that I and my family should go now.

"I'm so sorry about what happened." Euphemia says.

"Why is oni-sama like this? He wasn't so bad before..." Nunnaly says at the brink of tears.

"I'm sorry too." I say while I look at Euphemia. "Listen, I shouldn't come again."

"Why?" Both of them asks at the same time.

"Because Lelouch lives here and if he does something like that one more time, I..."

"Okay, I understand." Euphemia says with a sad face. She gives me a kiss in the cheek, what makes me surprised. "Good bye them."

"Yes... good bye."

My sisters don't speak during our way back home and they continue like that for the whole day. When the time comes, Alice just says good night and goes to sleep early and I am putting Emily at her room when she finally speaks.

"Why would Lelouch-sama do such things?"

"Power makes people different. They sometimes forget about the fact that they are humans."

"Oni-chan... you would never hit me, right?"

"I would never even touch you if you want."

"No, because you wouldn't hold my hand anymore, or kiss my cheeks again."

I stay at het side until she finally goes to sleep and I go back to my room. I find C.C sleeping there, but I don't mind her anymore and I sit at the computer and I start to see the profiles for the new recruits sent by Ohgi earlier. After some time my eyes pass in the profile of a Britannian: Diethard Ried, a producer of Hi-TV.

He looks to confident to be a spy, so maybe he is an extremist? Whatever the case I should look at his profile later. It is incredible how much support we are getting and now a group called Kyoto is sending us some Knightmares, which makes everything easier for the Black Knights.

After that I turn it off and I look at the moon, thinking about what I am doing. It might comes to the time when I have to fight my own "mother" in order to free Japan, but that is something that I must do, regardless of the consequences.

* * *

"Wow it's amazing! Look at those Knightmares!"

"Yes, look at those Burais that we got here."

"Man the Black Knights sure have some firepower."

"It makes all the effort to enter a good thing now."

"That makes us the elite, right?"

Some new recruits are looking at the Burais that Kyoto just sent us, but the original members of the Order are looking at something else: Guren Mk-II, the first completely made Knightmare. They are all excited about it, talking and praising it like it is our greatest achievement. I am happy as well that our efforts are paying out and now I should do a little thing to a friend.

"I expected Tamaki, but Inoue and the rest are treating this like a party." I sigh and look at Kallen, the only one near the Guren. "We aren't the only one supported by Kyoto, right?"

"Yes, but we finally entered, so they must be recognizing us."

"I'm afraid that you are wrong Kallen. This is just a test that they are putting into us."

"Say whatever you want, but it's still awesome."

"You don't change, do you?" I say throwing a Knightmare's key to her. "Congratulations, The Guren Mk-II is your now."

"Mine? But we have a lot more people now and we can't afford to lose you. If you die..."

"I have three reasons to give it to you. First: You are the ace of the Black Knights when it comes to pilot a Knightmare. Second: You have a lot more experience than me in handling those things. Third: I think that a Japanese should pilot the first Japanese Knightmare, don't you think? Besides I already have a special unit for me."

"It's just... I don't want you hurt." She says, blushing.

I know that she is worried about me, but she is a first class pilot and a strong reason to fight, so I am betting at her. Besides, I think that I can handle a fight with just a Burai.

"Zero, you got a moment?" Ohgi appears holding a piece of paper. "I've got some weird Intel from some Britannian guy, that Diethard Ried."

I look at the papers that he gives me and I find a really interesting reading. It seems that Marianne is going to attack the Narita mountains, the place where the Japan Liberation Front is hidden. We can use it as a way to capture Marianne or Cornelia. The problem is the fact that it could be a trap, but I don't think so, since that Diethard guy doesn't looks like this kind of person.

"In this weekend we are going hiking."

* * *

I went ahead of the rest to make sure that the JLF don't notice us, so I find a hut where they keep a place to warn them about Britannia, but I use my Geass on them to ignore any strange activity. After that I give Ohgi the signal and he probably starts to get moving.

I sit down to wait for them and I get a book to read while I do it. I look at a watch at the wall and it says that I have plenty of time until the Britannian Army arrives, so I am relaxed. I took down my mask since those guys aren't going to remember me anyway, but I starts to think about what I am going to do. It is a very risky strategy, but the only available for a small army like ours.

Ohgi and the others arrive in time and they all put the excavators in place and they start to work. No one besides me, Ohgi and Kallen know about the true reason about all this, in order to get her surviving instincts at the maximum.

"Are you sure about this?" Ohgi asks.

"Our opponent used to be a Knight of Round and it's the Empress of the Empire. Also, the finest soldiers of the Army are with her, including her Knight, Cornelia li Britannia, so I think that this is necessary."

"Okay, I'll trust you." He sighs and stay quiet for a bit. "I never get why a princess would be the Knight of someone."

"She got special authorization from the Emperor to be it. It is well know how much Cornelia respects and praises Marianne, so she must have the feeling that she needs to protect her idol."

Ohgi continues tense for all the time and I must admit that I am starting to fell nervous. This time we won't have an escape route, so it is best that my plan works, or else...

A lot of air movement can be seem from up the mountain and everyone starts to get nervous and confused from such a fuss. It seems that Marianne started to move, so now the only way out is to fight.

"You've gotta be kidding me Zero! Those troops have us completely surrounded."

"I know. That's why our only way out is to fight."

"Let's see if I got it: we are surrounded and you want us to face Britannia? Are you mad?"

"Besides, it's Marianne "the Flash" that is leading them. We don't have a chance."

"Yes, it would be necessary a miracle to win this fight. All that I have to do is create a miracle, don't I?"

"What are you saying?"

"Even a messiah needs a miracle to be acknowledged. So I'm going to create one."

"I knew that you were mad, but no one listen to me. I am the one that should be the leader." Tamaki says while he try to get his gun, but I pick my pistol first.

"Our patch to retreat is cut." I make a movement and I offer my pistol to him. "If you really think that you can win without my help, them shoot me and lead them."

I see all of them looking at me with surprised faces, but no one moves. I know what they are thinking: without me they don't stand a chance of winning, so there is only one choice to be made.

"You all have two choices: you either live with me or perish with me."

I can hear the sounds of a starting battle at the mountains and Tamaki still hasn't made his decision. After some time he and everyone else says that they will follow me.

We all prepare for the battle and I enter my Burai to get ready for the fight as well. The Burai is a modified Glasgow, but mine is especial: it is a Burai Experimental Radiantion Wave Type that have the same Radiation Wave Arm from the Guren, but a lot more weaker. I've spent my time at the hut studying it, so I can probably handle it without any problem. Marianne is a great tactician, but she is easy to read as well, so I have already located her in the middle of the battlefield.

"Right, all preparations are completed! Black Knights, prepare to move out!" Everyone gets ready for action, saying that they don't need to fear since they have Zero with them. "We'll launch a surprise attack at Britannia's forces from the summit of the mountain! Our main objective is to capture Viceroy Marianne, so you have permission to do whatever it takes for doing so. Our route will be open by the Guren Mk-II."

I see Kallen using the Radiation Wave device in one of the drills, heating the water bellow the mountain. After that the whole mountain trembles and I create our miracle: a landslide. It gets down the mountain, wiping out every enemy unit in its way.

The only problem is that I underestimated the Radiation power, so it was even more destructive than I thought. It even get part of the town, but I have already made up my mind about getting civilians during the fight. I know that it is horrible, but for me to achieve my goal, blood must be spilled.

We start to move out to attack Marianne's units and we get the enemy by surprise. They can't even defend properly from the attack, since they didn't recovered from the landslide yet. I see some reinforcements heading in my way, so I just tell everybody to smash through them all. My unit of five Burais, including myself, start shooting at the enemy and I use my Radiation Wave Arm for the first time in a Sutherland, turning it into a blob.

"Zero!"

Two of my Burai units are destroyed and I see some Sutherlands coming in our way. For the red shoulders I can see that they are from the Purist faction.

"If Zero is here, comes forward and face me, Jeremiah Gottwald!"

"So you are still in the army, Orange?"

"O-oran... DIE!"

HE comes towards me, but I slap his assault rifle from his hands and he gets his stun tonfas. Before anyone can react I grab his Knightmare's head with my right arm.

"Sorry, but you are in my way." And I use the Radiation Wave.

His Sutherland starts to heat and deform, but before it explodes the ejection system is turned on and the cockpit flies away. The other Purists try to attack me, but the Guren appears and destroy one of them as he jumps up him. The rest of them start to fall back as they realize that they can't win against us.

We continue to move forward, just like the rest of the Black Knights. If we win this battle we can call ourselves true warriors.

"Kallen, go ahead and take out any reinforcement that Marianne might have and meet me when you finish, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

She goes away as we continue going forward, but we find the Purists in our way. We engage them in battle and I destroy one of them with my Slash Harkens and another with the Radiation Wave. The problem is that they are numerous and I have Tamaki with me, so after a time I am the only one remaining, but there's six Sutherlands from the enemy. Two of them try to attack me at once, but I have a little surprise under my sleeve: a Revolving-Blade Sword. I cut the two of them and go toward the others, They try to use some distance, but I guard my sword and I get my assault rifle and I manage to take down two more. I get another one with my Radiation Wave Arm and there's only one left.

"Zero, do you copy?"

"I'm kind of busy right now."

"Someone is engaging the Royal Guard and it seems that is the JLF."

Someone saw what I intended? That makes things a lot more easier, so I start to go at point 9 to engage Marianne and Cornelia as well. When I arrive I see the Guren fighting Two Gloucesters at the same time, so I sue my Slash Harkens in one of them and I realize that I hit Cornelia.

"Good day, Viceroy."

"Zero? So you are here at least."

"This is a check-mate, dear Marianne. I must ask you to surrender to us and I promise you that you won't get hurt."

"Thanks, but I must refuse your offer." She says while she goes against me with her Jousting Lance against me, but I grab it with my right arm, destroying it with radiation.

"Kallen, take care of Cornelia, Marianne is mine."

"Roger."

Marianne and me start to play a little game of cat and rat, with her using his assault rifle to prevent me from getting near her. After some time she uses her Slash Harkens to get my own assault rifle out of my hand and to do some damage at my Burai. The difference in our Frames is enormous and she used to be a Round, so I guess hat this isn't going to be so easy. Thanks to his last attack, I am able to get near him and to use the Radiation Wave at the Gloucester's arm, but she detaches it to avoid more damage. I get my sword and I start to deliver blows at her, but she avoids my attacks and she even try to counter them, but I let the Harkens hit to get an opening and I deliver her a slice that cuts her other arm and one of the legs, making the frame go down.

"Marianne-sama!" Cornelia screams and Kallen uses that distraction to destroy the lance of her Gloucester as well as one of the arms. Before she can't get away I use my sword to cut the other arm away. "Coward!"

"Zero, what should we do about Cornelia?"

"Kill them if you want. I only want Marianne."

"As you wish."

Before she can do it, the earth trembles again and it appears: my nemesis, that white Knightmare from Shinjuku. How dare he appears to stop me? I try to use my sword against it, but some kind of shield appears and I can hit it.

"Kallen, destroy that unit at once!"

"Yes sir!"

The white one tries to kick the Guren, but she uses the Radiation Wave to destroy his leg, but he detaches the sand panel to avoid it. Cornelia comes at my direction, using her Slash Harkens to attack me, but I use my arm to destroy them with radiation and I prepare to hit her with my sword when a shot from that white Knightmare hits my left arm, letting me only with my Radiation Wave Arm. Kallen is able to use that distraction to land a radiation attack at his shields, breaking them. He launches the last sand panel at her while he shoots at her with that blue gun of his, but she avoids both attacks and is able to destroy that gun of him. Cornelia gets closer to me and I try to use my arm against her, but the damage from that Slash Harkens attacks are greater then I thought and I can only defend myself from the blow of the Gloucester's shoulder.

Before I can rethink my situation, something hits my back: Marianne is still on the fight and she used her Slash Harkens to hit me, damaging my unit badly. Kallen just destroyed one of the swords of the white one and she is trying to get to me now, but the white is a persistent person and he don't let her go. Cornelia gives to me a kick, but I am able to avoid it, but not Marianne's attack, so I use the ejection system as I get away from the battlefield.

"All the Black Knights, retreat at once. If we stay here any longer, we might lose everything."

"I'm coming for you Zero."

"No! Listen to me Kallen, join the otters, I can handle myself alone now."

"But..."

"Obey me!"

I get out of the cockpit with my grenade launcher and I start to get back to our lines. I am counting in the fact that the JLF is going to distract Britannia, giving us the opportunity to run away. The problem is that I end up fighting against some enemies, so I have to find somewhere to hide.

I enter a cave and after some time I give the Black Knights a call to get me and I sit at a rock, exhausted. I look at the cave's ceiling while I think about the battle and everything regarding it. It was a huge blow at the enemy and the Black Knights won not just the battle, but experience as well. Marianne and Cornelia proved to be a formidable enemy and now all that I can do is to wait for the next assault.

"Lucian, are you here?" I see Kallen coming from the entrance and she has tears all over her eyes.. "Thank goodness, you are okay."

"Yes, but I lost my unit."

"Doesn't matter, you are safe. Everyone was worried about you."

"Sorry." I say while we get out of the cave. "Remember just one thing: last time, call me Zero when I am using this clothes, okay?"

"Roger sir."

We leave the cave together and, on the way back home, I start to think that now we are finally a true force. Now we can not only fight back, but we will be able to attack the enemy in equal terms. We showed the world that the Black Knights are here and we won't stop until we reach our ultimate goal: a world of true peace.


	11. Stage 11: Path of Blood and Tears

**Stage 11:**

**Path of Blood and Tears**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Shirley**_

I open up a little envelop sent by dad this morning and I see two tickets for a concert that will be played tomorrow night. There's even a note inside "Enjoy your boyfriend while I can't meet him". I smile at the tickets, thinking in how much he thinks about my happiness. The only problem here is that Lulu isn't at the school... again, but the worst part of it is that Kallen isn't here as well.

Those two have been absent at the same time more than it is recommended and they seem to be getting along pretty well... to much well to tell you the truth. Could be that Kallen is trying to steal Lulu from me? I have to find him and stop this, after all, I am his girlfriend.

* * *

I am looking at the same paper for more than twenty minutes now. I didn't found Lulu during the whole day and this suspicion stayed inside my head the whole day: could Lulu be cheating on me with Kallen? Just the thought of it makes me worried and I sigh out loud and the President takes notice of it.

"Why so worried?"

"Lulu and Kallen are absent again."

"So what?"

"Don't you think that they are absent a little to much, you know, at the same time?"

"Lucian was always absent the whole time, even before Kallen enters the Council, and Kallen it's the same as him. You don't need to worry about it, trust your boyfriend a little, would you?"

"I know, it's just..." I look at the tickets in my hands, but the President grabs them from my hands Suddenly. "Give them back!"

"Oh, so that's why you are worried, you want to invite him but you can't find him anywhere."

"Stop it President!"

"Oh come on. If you want to invite him so much, why don't you just go look for him at his house, which you already is."

I know that Lulu lives at the clubhouse, but it is too much embarrassing to just enter the place where he lives with his sisters and to invite him for a program just for the two of us.

"What do you think, Lucian?"

"What do you mean?"

My hearth stops when I hear his voice and turning back, there he is, wearing normal clothes and looking at the President with confusion. Milly laughs a little at our faces and Lucian looks at me, trying to understand the situation.

"Hey, Lulu... do you... ah..."

"Are you okay Shirley?"

"Do you... wanttogoonaconcertwithmetomorrow?"

"Hum... sorry, I didn't understood what you said."

"Well... do you want to go on a concert with me tomorrow?"

"That's it?"

"Don't make it sound like a stupid thing!"

"Well, it's because it was so complicated for you to say it that I thought that it was something bad. I would love to go with you."

"Really?"

"I'm am your boyfriend after all."

I practically jump at him from my happiness and he holds me before I can fall. The time that I spent with him during those weeks since we became a couple were the happiest of my whole life. I don't know why I thought that he could be cheating on me.

"Okay loving couple, you can separate now."

"Sorry Milly." He says as we get separate, with the two of us red.

"Now that Shirley is with her mind at ease, you should tell me why you didn't attended school today."

"Emily is sick, so I'm taking the day off to take care of her."

"Is Emily all right?" I ask, worried.

"Just some fever, but I thought that it would be better if I stay with her."

"Okay them. You go back to your sister. You go buy something at this store for me."

"Yes ma'am."

As I leave the building my hearth is almost breaking. I am going to a concert with Lulu and I think that I am ready for it: to spent a night together with him, but this time...

God I wonder if it hurts too much for the first time. Of course I have already done it myself, but I think that it is different to have. Oh my god, I haven't considerate if Lulu is big or... what in hell am I thinking? I shouldn't... I am his girlfriend, but still... I don't know if I am ready, but Lulu might want to do it... he didn't asked until now, but i bet that he do "it" thinking about it.

My cell phone rings and it stops my dirty thoughts and I look at who is calling and I see that is dad. Great, maybe I can... NO, I can't ask him about such things, he would kill Lulu without thinking twice. I decide to answer it.

"Hello dad..."

"Oh God, this can't be..."

"Hum? Suzaku? What are you doing with my father's cell phone?"

"Why it has to be you of all people? Listen Shirley, it would be better if you sit down to hear what I have to tell you."

_**Lucian**_

"Kyoto praised us for using the Guren Mk-II so well." Ohgi states.

"But that White Armor appeared again." Kallen says.

"Don't sweat it. It was a tie. A tie, dammit."

We are all at the commander center and they are all talking about the battle at Narita, but I can only think about my date with Shirley tomorrow night. It will be really great to spent some time with her after all this movement from the battle. I am wondering about what to wear when I see Ohgi handling something to me: a sealed envelope.

"What's this?"

"Love letter."

"Oh, Ohgi. I never knew you where this kind of guy."

"And they said that you have no sense of humor." Tamaki laughs at my little joke.

"You laugh to much." Kallen says, without taking her eyes from the Guren's manual.

"It's an official letter from Kyoto, requesting a meeting with us."

"That's good. If they accept us, we'll get money and resources as well."

"And it could solve our financial crisis."

"Crisis? Why there's a crisis? I've sent you a budget about how to use our money, what happened?"

"Well..." He says, looking at Tamaki.

"Hey, it's not my fault! We are a big organization now! That means new expenses, you know?"

"Like fancy dinners for the new recruits?"

"Hey, you..."

"Enough!" I put my hand in my covered face, wondering where my mind was when I decided to put Tamaki of all people responsible for the treasury. "Ohgi is the new responsible for the treasury."

"Hey, the money was always my responsibility! You can't just change it now."

"Show me results so I can trust it to you them."

"Do you really want to talk about trust? A guy that hides his face from his comrades?"

"Tamaki, you shouldn't..." Ohgi starts, but he is interrupted by Kallen.

"Who cares about his identity? He has the skill to defeat the legendary Marianne and Cornelia, so I don't mind his mask."

Everyone is quiet after her words and I fell bad about it. I would put my hand on fire to help them, but I keep hiding my face from them, even after everything that happened.

"Listen everyone, I can't show you my face not because I don't trust you, but because I... have shame of it."

"Shame?"

"Yes. I can't explain it to you all, but I hope that one day I might be able to show it."

Inoue and the others smile a little as they seem my sincerity towards them. After all those troubles I really think of them as my comrades and I will do anything to achieve they dream: liberate Japan.

* * *

I am looking at some profiles, trying to figure it out who might be in Kyoto. I have narrowed down to twelve persons and now I am thinking about who they might be. Someone knocks the door and I prepare to put my mask, but is Kallen, so I let her in without putting it.

"Sorry about what I said earlier."

"Don't worry, I liked that you defended me." As I say this, she gets red.

"I see... Hey, you were serious when you told us that you have shame of your face?"

"Yes, I was."

"Why?"

"It's the same face of Lelouch, my brother."

"So what? You are you, not him."

"I know, it's just... forget about it, okay?"

"Okay... hey, do you want to go at my house and have dinner with me after the meeting with Kyoto?"

"Sorry, I can't, but thanks for the invitation."

"I see... It's okay them." She says as she leaves, with a sad face.

Because of Kyoto, I might arrive late for the date with Shirley. Sometimes I wish that I didn't started this Zero thing, but I can't afford to lose this chance, so I might explain to Shirley about what it. I will have to lie to her, but that's the only way.

* * *

I arrive at home pretty late at night and Alice is sleeping like a rock now. I pass at Emily's room to check her fever and she is still awake, reading a book that I gave to her some time ago.

"Hey there, why are you awake?"

"I was waiting for you."

"You shouldn't."

"I know, it's just... I'm worried about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... you've been a lot more distant from us since that day when Prince Clovis was killed. There's something bothering you?"

"No, that's not like that." I grab her hand to calm her down. "Sorry about it, I'll try to give you two more attention, okay?"

"Can you make me a promise?"

"Another one?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've already have to marry you, so..."

"You don't need to!" She blushes and looks away. "I just want to make sure that you won't leave us behind."

"I promise you that, no matte what happens, I'll always protect and take care of you two."

* * *

"You want my help?"

"Yes, I want. No matter what are Kyoto intentions, I need their power and that's where you enters."

"I should be honored?"

"This is serious C.C! I need your help like I've never needed."

"Only if you call me "dear" one time."

"God, why don't you... fine." I sigh a little. "Please dear, could you help me?"

"That's much better, honey. By the way, you forgot something." She handle me Shirley's ticket.

"I didn't forget! I may be too late to arrive on time, so maybe I'll cancel our date and apologize to her later."

As I finish my sentence my cell phone rings and I see that it is Shirley.

"Hi Shirley, I need to tell you..."

"Listen Lulu... I might be a little late tonight, so you can go ahead, okay?"

"Something happened?"

"No, it's okay... I just have to take care of something."

She hangs up, leaving me on the air. I know her good enough to know that something is wrong, but I need to concentrate at the task ahead. I just hope that I live long enough to talk to her again.

_**Suzaku**_

I am helping in the find for survivors from that landslide that hit the mountain during the battle. According to the reports that we received, the landslide was induced by the Black Knights, which made me even more angry about Zero. He didn't cared about what he did, only wanting results from it, but the worst part is yet to come.

During my work I found the body of a man buried and after I took him out I used a cell phone found near him to see if I can contact any member of the family, like the protocol says, but the person that received the call was Shirley. I told her that she had to come to Narita with her mother to see if the body is really from any relative. I really hope that this man isn't the one that I think, but if he is, I need to try my best to help Shirley to pass for it.

I drink some more water and I spill the rest at the top of my head, trying to cool down my thoughts. Why it had to be me the one to give Shirley those news? Sometimes I think that I have the worst luck ever.

"Tired of digging bodies?"

"Hi for you too, Lloyd."

"Well, looks like that someone is in a bad mood today."

"It's just that one of the persons might be related to a friend."

"It's that so?"

"Hey... Zero, what he is trying to do with all those deaths?"

"He and the Black Knights are knights for justice, according them."

"It's this Justice?" I say while I smash the bottle at my hand.

"Please, I hope that you aren't going to start a speech about the nature of justice now. We are soldiers after all."

As he finish that saying, I see Shirley and a woman that looks like her mother entering the tents, looking for someone. I go at them to receive both and to let them see... the body.

"Shirley...I..."

"Oh Suzaku it's you."

"Yeah... listen, I..."

"That's my mother. Mom, this is Suzaku, a friend from school."

"Nice to meet you."

"Thanks." I say while we start to move. "Listen, all that you have to do is look at the body and say if it is from... you know..."

"I know what to do."

We arrive at the tent where they are keeping the bodies until someone arrives to recognize them and I guide them to where they put the one that we are looking for.

"Sorry, but I have to see you IDs, just the normal procedure."

They gave me the IDs and I confirm what I already knew. I give it back to them as we continue on our way.

"Hold on a second." Someone says behind us. "You dropped this."

We look back and we see a dark-skinned woman from the Purist faction holding a picture. She gives it to Shirley and I see that it is from Lucian, which makes me think about him. I hope that he helps Shirley to get out of this and do everything that he can.

"He is... your boyfriend?"

"Yes, he is. Thanks."

After giving the photo to her, the woman takes her way, with a serious look at her face. We arrive at the right place and I talk with a soldier nearby, telling him about the reason they are here.

"Listen, don't lose the hope, it might not be him, alright?"

"I know. Thanks Suzaku."

The soldier starts to open the bag and I can only pray to God to be the wrong person.

**Kallen**

Zero, Ohgi, Tamaki and me are in a limousine in our way to meet Kyoto and Tamaki is complaining about the long time that this trip is taking. Zero stayed quiet all the way and I think that he is nervous about such an important meeting. I want to hold his arm to calm him, but I control myself in doing it, knowing that he has a girlfriend.

My emotions for him are confusing and I don't know what to do about it. As Zero I respect him for his skills and for his charisma, but he becomes such a different person when he comes back to Lucian: kind, gentle and is always wearing a little smile. I don't know why, but I notice that sometimes, when he thinks that no one is looking, he wears a sad smile, like there is something that brings sadness to him suddenly.

While I have this thoughts, we start to go up inside the limo, so I presume that we are in some kind of elevator. Some time after someone opens the door and says that the masters are waiting for us. We get out and I finally discover where we are: the Fuji Mines, the place that holds the reason for Britannia to attacks Japan: the Sakuradite.

"It's repulsive!" We look back and we see two persons, but their faces are covered by some kind of curtain, so we can't see them. "A sacred mountain once a wonder of clean water and lush greenery, now bent to the empire's will. Its continual rape is the very symbol of the Empire's violation of Japan."

We all look at him speechless, even Zero that still hasn't said a thing. What's happening to him? Why he don't say anything?

"I apologize for not showing my face, but Zero hides his face as well. Unfortunately I must be sure about who you are."

"Come one, it really matters who Zero is?" The other person asks, and for the voice it seems that it is a girl. "He did so much for Japan until now."

"We already discussed this! In order to trust him, I must at least know his face!" He says, pointing his cane in our direction and four Burais appear, aiming at us.

"Wait! Zero gave us power and victories, that alone should..."

"Silence! Now which of you is Ohgi?"

"You will remove Zero's mask."

Ohgi looks at the ground, thinking about what he might do. After some seconds he makes up his mind and go at Zero, apologizing about what he is going to do. He starts to put off his mask and now I finally understand the reason of the mask: if someone discovers that Zero isn't a Japanese, but a Britannian and worst, member of the Royal Family, he will be executed. I need to save him, but right now I am powerless and I can only watch as Ohgi gets the mask out of him.

I look away as I know what is going to do next, but I never expected what really happened. Tamaki almost scream when he sees the face behind the mask.

"Zero is a GIRL?"

I look at him and what I see is a woman with a long green hair and yellow eyes. I don't understand, where is Lucian? When did he...

"You girl, are you really Zero?"

"No, I am not."

"And you are not Japanese?"

"Correct, Kyoto leader, Taizou Kirihara. And the other one must be Kaguya Sumeragi, only leader of the Sumeragi Family."

It's this true? Those in front of us are really from the Japanese royalty? As she says this the bodyguards grab their guns, saying that anyone that recognizes the masters should not be allowed to live. The Burais point their guns at us as well and I can only think about where is the real Zero.

Out of nowhere one of the Burais launch its Slash Harkens at two of the others, disarming them and it do the same with the last one. After that he goes towards Kirihara and Sumeragi, pointing his assault rifle at them.

"And your methods are outdated as well." The cockpit opens and Zero gets out of there, the real one (I hope at least).

_**Lucian**_

I am hlding a remote control of the Knightmare, just in case they try to shoot me, Kirihara is dead as well. I must admit that i wasn't expecting Kaguya to appears, but she is a bonus, since they aren't going to do anything that might kill the last Sumeragi alive (besides her brother, but he is a half-breed, so I can forget about him). I get out of the Knightmare and I go in direction of the old man.

"Taizou Kirihara, founder of Kirihara Industries, the owner of the monopoly of the Sakuradite mining, and a great supporter of the Kururugi regime. However your changed your side after the defeat and collaborated with the Empire and is commonly know as Kirihara "the Traitor". However, you are the leader of "The six houses of Kyoto" and a sponsor of movements of rebellion across the country. A double agent, how cliche."

"Show respect to him, your..."

"Stop!"

"Is as you guessed, I am not Japanese." After this statement I can hear the Black Knights showing surprise with this information.

"Then why do you fight? What do you want?"

"The destruction of Britannia."

"Do you believe that you can do it?"

"I van, because I must. I have a reason that make me go forward and compels me to achieve my goal." I enter the space where he is, a place that no one will see our faces when we are talking. "I'm glad that I'm dealing with you."

"I take out my mask and I see his surprised face when he remembers who I am, or to be more precise, who I used to be.

"You..."

"It's been a long time, Lord Kirihara."

"It's been how long? It's been nine long years..."

"And I really appreciate your help at the time."

"If I hadn't come, you would take the messenger as a hostage?"

"Hardly. I came to ask for your assistance, that's all."

"So..." He smiles a little. "The flower planted so long ago finally blowed, right Zero?" He starts to laugh. "Ohgi! This man is the biggest hater of Britannia and I am also satisfied for the reason that he must hide his face as well. I urge you to follow Zero and I can guarantee that if you do, Kyoto will give you our support."

"Thank you."

"Thanks Lord Kirihara." I say as I get out of the place, putting my mask again.

"Are you embarking in the path f blood?"

"You probably is the only one that knows that I was born in this path."

As I start to get out the other member of Kyoto goes at my direction, ignoring the advertisings of the bodyguards. She stops in front of me and I clearly see my old cousin, Kaguya Sumeragi, but different from the last time she is smiling at me and not accusing me of killing her mother.

"I finally meet you, Zero-sama."

"Not exactly. We've already met, but you don't remember."

"That's so unfair! I was just a child nine years ago. And why you didn't showed me your face?"

"For security, I only show my face to people that I completely trust."

"So you don't trust your future wife?"

Wait just a second, what? When did she...? Oh God what kind of complex this girl has with marriage? When we were both children she always said that we would marry and now this. I can hear Kirihara laughing back there, the only one that knows the full irony of the situation.

"Unfortunately, I've already have a contract." I look at C.C." A contract with the demon"

Without saying anything else, I start to leave and I am followed by the Black Knights, who are trying to understand this whole situation.

* * *

I am in front of the theater, waiting for Shirley. Everything is moving to well that I can't imagine anything that can interfere with my plans now. The Black Knights are going to become the organization that I imagined in the beginning and we execute one more step towards the world of true peace.

The concert has already started and Shirley hadn't appeared yet. I remember his tone when we talked earlier and I start to get worried about her as the time pass. Before I can call her, I see her, standing in the middle of the rain, alone. I go in her direction and I cover her with my umbrella

"You shouldn't stay in the rain like that. Come one, let's get out of the rain now."

She don't answer me, but She follows me as we go back to Ashford. This silence is bothering me and every time that I ask her what is wrong, she doesn't answer me and continues in silence. We arrive at the school and I invite her to my place to get some dry clothes.

She enters my room with the same face as I find her there and before I can ask her again what is the problem she embraces me and we fall.

"Shirley, what's..."

"Lulu, tell me... Zero, he fights for the weak, doesn't he?"

"Y-yeah, that's what he says, but..."

"Then... Then why did he killed my father?"

After hearing this I see her face covered in tears that are mixed with the rain's water. I am in shock with this information and I can only stare at her, without a word.

"He was so gentle, he never ever laid a finger in me. He never did anything wrong! But he was buried alive... he couldn't breath." She starts to sob. "Why... why did he had to die like that? I don't want this... not this!"

She hugs me stronger and puts her face in my chest, crying in despair. This can't be... I killed him. I killed Shirley's father! God, I didn't... I didn't wanted to be like that! I made the calculations, but the landslide hit the town and it got Shirley's father in the process. I am just the worst, but that isn't the worst part. What makes me shocked is the fact that I haven't felt anything when I discovered that it might had hit civilians. It could be that I am losing my emotion? I am becoming a true demon?

"Please Lulu..." She starts to kiss me and she tries to put off my shirt.

"Wait Shirley, I don't think that we..."

"I need you! More than anything in the world! So, please..."

At the sight of her eyes all my resistance fall and I kiss her back, fully aware of what we are about to do... no, what I am about to do.

* * *

The morning sun is rising from the window and I am already fully awake, guilty from my sins. I look at my side and I see Shirley sleeping there, with just a thin sheet covering her body. I get out of the bed and I go to the bathroom, looking the door after I enter.

I look myself at the mirror and that is the face of a murderer, a cold-blooded killer. After what I did to Shirley I still... still...

I use the shower to try to clear my ideas, but I am so confused right now. I state that I a the defender of the weak, but I have killed innocents without thinking. I didn't wanted to get them involved, but they got anyway. It is Zero really the solution of my problems and of the world? Do I even deserve the right to be the savior of this world?

I look at the ceiling, feeling how small and weak the whole human race is. And I am the weakest of them all.


	12. Stage 12: Secret Revealed

**Stage 12:**

**Secret Revealed**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

The weather is closed, which couldn't be more appropriate for my feelings right now. The Student Council is around me, looking at Shirley in among the people that had come to give her and her mother their condolences. After the priest ends his speech, some men start to cover the hole with Earth, but Shirley's mother tells them to stop, saying that he had suffered enough bellow earth.

As Shirley comforts her, I can only think in the reason of why I am here now, the one that actually killed him. My hair is covering my eyes, but I can still se her there, trying to be strong for her mother. After everyone leaves and the Student Council is the only ones left there, Shirley goes towards us and Kallen steps ahead.

"Shirley, I... I'm so sorry."

"Stop. Why are you apologizing for?"

Kallen looks away and I know what she is thinking: she was the one that created the mudslide with the Radiation Wave of the Guren. She must be feeling as guilty as me right now, but she only did what I demanded, noting more than that. I am the one that shall take all the blame, and me alone.

"We fell bad! It's just that during that hotel jacking, I thought that the Black Knights were cool and all, but now..." Rivalz says.

"Don't worry about it, I was talking those things as well, so..."

"Stop this Shirley." Milly says with a worried face. "I'm more worried about you. Have you cried yet? If you just hold it, it'll be harder to face it later."

"You... don't need to worry about that at all. I cried a lot."

I know what she is talking about: I was there. And this just increases my guilty as I think on what I did with her right after... I practically used her, fully aware about what I did to her. I am the worst.

"Cowards!" Suzaku says with an angry face. "Zero and the Black Knights are the worst. He doesn't even do the dirty job, always getting other people to do it for him! He just do it and poses as the one who judges the world! His methods aren't going to change anything! Anything won using such ways is just meaningless."

"I think that its time to get back to school." Milly says and she looks at Shirley. "We'll be waiting for you, in the old Student Council room, like always."

Everyone starts to get away and Milly gives me a look saying everything that she wants me to do. Kallen looks at me as well, probably wondering what I am thinking. There is only me and her now and she is looking at the floor, without saying a word. It starts to rain, just like last night.

"Lulu, I... I'm so sorry."

"What?" I look at her, surprised.

"It wasn't fair of me to do what I did yesterday. The way I did it... you had no choice. Listen, forget about that, okay?"

"Shirley, I..."

"We finally did it and I can't even be happy about it." She starts to go away, but I grab her arm.

"It's not your fault! I'm the one that should be punished here, not you. I practically used you last..."

"Don't say that! Please, just... leave me alone for now."

"I can't Shirley! I just can't."

"Listen... I think that we should take a time."

"What?"

"I love you, but this loss and what we did last night... I just need some time, okay?"

After that she runs away from me, leaving only me with my feelings and thoughts. I look at the grave with a deep feeling of seclusion and sadness. I get on my knees, wondering how much people are in front of graves right now, all because of me. I don't care about the soldiers, they choose this way, but I am guilty for the innocent, the ones that I swore to protect.

I look at the sky and I can see my parents there, Genbu and Lucretia, looking at me without emotions. I can't hold it anymore and I start to scream in despair as I release all my suppressed emotions.

* * *

"Do you regret it? Getting someone near to you involved?"

I don't look at C.C even after she says this, so I keep staring at nothing in particular. She is holding some kind of stuffed animal that she got from asking pizza all the time, Cheese-kun. I don't answer her, but she continues to talk.

"Didn't you said that you've been in the path of blood since the beginning of your life? Did you really think that any inoccent would get caught in the fire?"

"Shut up!"

"You've already killed a fair share of people, either by your hands or by your words."

"Just shut up!"

"All of them had families, parents and loved ones. Lovers, friends and a future: you took all of this from them all. I thought that you were prepared to deal with it."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I am prepared! I've been from the second that I was sent to that facility by that man!"

"So why the hesitation?"

"I don't care about the killing, that's the reason."

"What do you mean?"

"After the mudslide hit the town I knew that it had hit civilians that had nothing to do with it. Still I didn't even felt anything from them, like a robot without emotions. I fear that if I continue on this path, I might lose everything that makes me human."

"But you aren't a human. For the moment you accepted the contract, you became more than human, you became a King."

"I already know of it! It doesn't mean that I like it the way it is now."

"You are to deep in this to just leave it as it is. You either finish what you started or you die trying to do it."

"I know! Just leave me alone." I say while I get out of the room.

I enter the bathroom and I look at my own face at the mirror. Looking at it, I don't see the usual "me" but I see another person at it: Lelouch. I punch my image and I break the mirror and I can feel my hand bleeding from the cuts.

I fell to the floor and I start to remember every person that I killed with my own hands. There are too many of them and I can't remember them, but I try to feel something from their deaths, but I can't fell nothing. I start to look at the ceiling and after a really long reflection, I make up my mind. I get my cell phone and I call a person.

"Ohgi, this is Zero."

* * *

"Are you sure about that Zero? Can we trust this guy?" Ohgi asks me

"Can we, Diethard?" I look at the Britannian that arrived some time ago, trying to enter the Black Knights.

"Totally. I can assure you that my intentions regardless the Black Knights are genuine. It's also a honor to meet you face-to-mask, Zero."

"So you are saying that Marianne is going to deploy the Royal Marine in order to catch General Katase of the JLF?"

"That's correct. The general is going to use a ship filled with liquid Sakuradite in order to escape."

"Tohdoh will never make it in time to help the general and I don't think that he can, since he lost his customized Burai at Narita."

"He don't really have military strength right now. All that he can use is the Sakuradite."

"What should we do, Zero?"

"Having Katase at our side would only benefits us, because if he enters the Black Knights, Tohdoh would probably enters as well."

"So I think that it would be better if we help him and..."

"Ohgi, I already have a plan about what to do. Contact Kyoto and tell them that I need some information about Katase and his plan."

"Yes. What is our plan?"

"If we do what I'm thinking, not only we can destroy Marianne, but also get Katase at our side."

_**Suzaku**_

"As you know, Princess Cornelia doesn't likes to employ numbers, but I think, and Viceroy Marianne agrees, that we should use everyone available at the moment, Warrant Officer Kururugi."

"I understand sir."

"I don't care about your past as long as you prove your loyalty towards Britannia and for me that's the only important thing in a person. Our target is Katase and if we take him out the JLF is gone and there will be only the Black Knights left. Your job will be to give the marines support fire while they get Katase and to annihilate any remaining forces from the enemy."

"I have to annihilate them, sir?"

"No one besides the target must survive, it's that clear? This is your chance to be recognized by the world, Warrant Officer."

"Understood, my lord."

"So, are you going to show your loyalty that way?" Lloyd appears and asks me.

I don't answer, but I hold stronger the key of the Lancelot in my hand. I don't agree with this, but I have to obey my orders. If I want to stop those resistance cell, I must do my job properly.

_**Shirley**_

I am in the Yokosuka Port at night, looking for Lulu. A woman appeared earlier today and she told me that he might be affiliated with the Black Knights. This can't be true, a kind person like him would never get himself with such people, I know it!

When I was going to ask him about all this I saw him getting out of the clubhouse building carrying a strange bag with him. I became suspicious about him and I decided to follow him, but I have lost him some time ago and now I am wandering alone here.

I hope that he forgives me for doubting him after I discover the truth behind what he is doing. I know that I asked him for some time, but I can't stay with this doubt in my head, I just can't! In order for me to believe in him again, I must know the truth.

_**Kallen**_

I am so confused right now that I can't think straight, so I need to talk to someone about my feelings and there's only one person that I fully trust. I open the warehouse's door where Lucian is and I see him there, without using any clothes above the waist and I see his body.

"Who is there?"

"S-sorry, it's me Kallen." I say, looking away and feeling hot.

"Come in, Kallen."

I close the door behind me and there is only darkness for now on. I move in his direction and I see him turning on some lights and I can clearly sees than he was diving not long ago. I can't look at him directly, or my eyes will go to his body, not his face.

"Hey, are we really fighting for justice?"

"Yes, we are Kallen." He looks at me and I try to concentrate at his eyes, but I only looks lower and he notices it. "Do you enjoy the view?"

"S-shut up!" I look away again, blushing a lot more. "It's just... I'm the one..."

"It's not your fault! Listen we are the ones that have to bring the change to this world, but we can't do it without spilling blood. There'll be times when innocents might get caught and for their sacrifice we must not fall! I know that it is hard, but even if people see us as cowards, we must continue on, not matter the costs of our actions. We've spilled blood so far and more blood must be spilled as we continue on." He looks at me again, but this time I can only focus at his eyes, who are filled with determination. "I won't force you, but if you still have the desire to help, so do it. This is your chance."

I feel his determination and I see that he passed for a rough time, and he stills continue to move forward, despite of his suffering. No matter what might happens, I can only do one thing now.

"I've made up my mind: I will follow you whenever you go, no matter what, Zero."

"I'm grateful, Kallen."

I only smile as I see his satisfaction and I almost embrace him, but I control myself in doing it. I notice a strange Knightmare behind him: it is blue and has an strange left arm, an arm far bigger than the other one.

"What is this?"

"This? This is my new Knightmare, the Gekka Pre-Production Test Type. It was developed from the Guren, but it lacks the same Radiation Wave Arm, as it uses an early model of it. It's going to be a test to see if a mass production model is viable."

"Are you sure that you don't want to use the Guren? It could be..."

"We already had this talk and the answer is still the same. Now go, you need to be ready for the battle."

"Okay, Zero."

_**Suzaku**_

"Commence operations!" Viceroy Marianne states.

All the Portman units that were waiting are now underwater and they start to go in the direction of the cruiser that the JLF is using t escape. I take my position as we get ready to give them support the second they get into the ship.

I have a bad feeling as I notice that there's no one in the deck of the tanker. The Portman use their Slash Harkens to get into the deck and there's no one on it yet.

"What's happening? Where is the JLF?" I can hear a soldier asks.

After some tense minutes we all receive a strange information: It seems that there's no one aboard the deck. A group of soldiers without Knightmares go check the interior and the minutes just pass as we wait for them. After some time we receive the confirmation: the tanker is practically empty.

Where could they have gone? If they aren't there, them why is the ship doing there with liquid Sakuradite? Why is...

Suddenly, the whole tanker explodes in a huge column of fire and light. I use my shields to avoid being hit by the wreckage of it, but the Sutherlands around me aren't so lucky as they got hit by pieces of the tanker. Then I see a great wave coming in our direction and I warn all the troops to find higher ground as I get to somewhere safe. I use my Slash Harkens in order to don't be dragged by the wave and it hits me with great strength, but thanks to my Harkens, I don't leave my spot.

After the wave is gone I see that it has dragged a lot of our troops and I receive a transmission: the Black Knights have appeared and they have launched an attack on us.

What the hell is happening right now?

_**Lucian**_

"Attack all enemy forces! We need to get Marianne in order to win!" I say while our little boat hits the land and me, Kallen and a group of Burais get out of it.

"Zero, did they bit the bait?" I can hear speaking with me from the phone.

"Yes General, just like I told you."

Earlier this day I used Kyoto to arrange a meeting with Katase and I made to him a proposal: If he agrees to join the Black Knights, I would help him to not only defeat Marianne but also find Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords, who are missing since Narita. He agreed, without any real chance against Britannia and now I have what is rest from the JLF at my command and Tohdoh might join us when we find him.

My plan was simple: we would blow up the empty tanker with the Sakuradite in order to confuse Britannian's troops and make a surprise attack on them. The plan just worked perfectly and now we are striking them at once.

"Destroy the Knightmares before their pilots can enter in them! Guren Mk-II, you are with me now."

"Yes sir."

Kallen and I start to go for Marianne and Cornelia while the rest of the troops start to attack the Knightmares and their pilots, leaving the enemy in chaos. I find Marianne's Gloucester before she can power it on and I hit it with My Gekka, making a hole in the wall in the place that she crosses it.

She uses her Slash Harkens against me, but thanks to the great speed of the Gekka and my reflexes, I dodge then and I use my revolving-blade sword to cut them out. She gets her assault rifle out, but I use my Revolving-Blade sword to cut her Knightmare's arm. Before I can do anything else, Cornelia appears yelling at me.

"How dare you...?" Her words are shut when Kallen appears behind her and send her assault rifle away with a Slash Harken.

"Kallen, do me a favor and destroy Cornelia? I have to deal with Marianne."

""As you wish."

Kallen starts to give combat to Cornelia as I cut all the members from Marianne's Gloucester. If I have to, I will get her out by cutting my way and there's nothing that Cornelia can do to save her now. As I get ready to land the final strike, I see someone in a corridor of containers and after further inspection, I see Shirley there.

Before I can arrange my thinking I sense something coming at me and I don't avoid it completely. After I regain my balance I see the White Helmet there and I get anger. Again he dares to spoil my plans?

I look at where Shirley was and I see nothing, so I start to face him in combat. He tries to cut me with his sword, but I stop the attack with my left arm, using the Radiation Wave to destroy it. He gets the other sword and he continues to give me combat, but we are on a tie right now. His Knightmare is slightly superior than mine, but I am not giving him rest as we cross our swords and attacks.

Suddenly I see another Gloucester coming in my direction and I am now facing two enemies and Kallen is trying to approaches me, but Cornelia is a skilled pilot and it is giving her trouble. The new enemy identifies himself as Cornelia's Knight, Guilford and he starts to help the White Helmet against me, but I have to say that I am not an easy enemy.

Guilford goes with his lance against me, but I destroy it with the Radiation Wave, alongside with his arm. He goes back and the white one does an spinning attack with his leg, but I am able to dodge it. Guilford starts to shoot at me with his assault rifle, but I get my handgun and now we are both shooting at each other. He manages to hit my handgun, but I use this distraction to get his rifle away, making him defenseless. Before I can land a hit at him, my other enemy attacks me from behind and I barely dodge it, losing my right arm in the process.

Guilford attacks me with his Slash Harkens, but I destroy them with Radiation. The White Helmet uses a blue gun to shoot an energy beam against me and I use my arm to slow it down with radiation. Guilford tries his best in attacking me with his shoulder, But I finally get him with my Radiation Wave, but he ejects before I can kill him with it.

Using this time, the White Helmet cuts my right arm and hits my Gekka, damaging it seriously now. I use the ejection system to get away, but I hit in a container when I do it and I end up hitting the floor and rolling without control until I finally hit a wall and everything gets dark.

_**Suzaku**_

I look at Zero's cockpit and I see it open, but he doesn't gets out, so I must assume that he is unconscious now. I have to admit that he is a good pilot as he managed to face me and Lord Guilford alone, but he was defeated anyway. Before I can get to him, Cornelia warns me and I see the red Knightmare coming at me with that arm of him on.

I use my last sword to defend myself and it is destroyed like the other. We jump up the containers as we fight and I give him combat, but whoever pilots it, it is a very skilled one and I find it difficult to hold my ground since I lost my Maser Vibration Swords and I have only the V.A.R.I.S and my Slash Harkens.

I need to get to Zero fast before he escapes, but I have the feeling that if I don't get near him fast, something bad might happen.

_**Shirley**_

I can believe it! There is a Knightmare's cockpit right in front of me and Zero is there, laying out of it, unconscious. I look at a pistol that is near him and I grab it, aiming at his head. I can get revenge for father and every family that he destroyed so far. Before I can shoot he moves a little and his mask falls of his head, revealing his true face: Lulu's face.

I stand back as I see his face. This can't be truth! Lulu can't be Zero! If that is true them... them... he is the one that killed my father! And to make things worst we... we...

Oh God, please! This can't be possible! Please make it disappear! Please... I sense tears rolling on my face as I look at him, totally defenseless.

"It's him! I can't believe that it's him."

I look back and I see the woman that told me about Lulu being in the Black Knights. It seems that she followed me here and now she is looking at Lulu with an insanely happy expression. She gets near him and she grabs his hair, showing that a path of blood is draw on it.

"Because of this I can get a true title of Knighthood. No, even better, I can be a noble. If I give him to the emperor, I am sure that she will make me at least a Baroness, or even higher. Of course, there will be a reward for you as..."

"She shuts his mouth when she notices that I am pointing the pistol at her, shaking. I can't let her harm him, no matter what he did to father. I love him so much, I can't just abandon him right now. I...I...

"Of course, he is your boyfriend." She says, coming in my direction

"Lulu!" And I pull the trigger.

_**Lucian**_

"Ohgi, we need to fall back now. If we stay any longer, we'll enter in a battle that we can't win, understand?"

"Yes, I'll give the order now."

I look at my mask feeling uneasy as C.C looks at me with a strange look. I look around for my pistol, but it disappeared and there's a great amount of blood around me.

"C.C, my pistol is gone and I can't find it anywhere."

"That must mean... that someone saw your face."

"There where at least two persons: the one who shoot and the one who was shot. And I think that one of them is Shirley."

"Why?"

"I think that I saw her during the fight."

"If that's true, what are you going to do now?"

I don't know what to do. If it was Shirley the one who saw my face, them I can no longer get back to Ashford. There's the problem of the other person as well: who might have got shot? If it was Shirley, them... no, I mustn't think in that. All that I can do right now is to think in what will be my next step very carefully.

"We need to find her and know what she knows."

"And what if she knows your face?"

"Them... I'll think on this later. First we find her."

I don't know why, but I have a really bad feeling about it and I can, somehow, feel that the death is in the air.


	13. Stage 13: Tragedy

**Stage 13:**

**Tragedy**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"You want to meet Princess Euphemia?" I ask Nina.

Everyone from the student council is in this room now, besides Shirley, Kallen and Lucian. There is even Emily and Alice here today, so it is very fun, despite Lucian not being here. After some time Nina decides to ask me if she could meet Euphie.

"Well, she kind of saved Nina during that hotel jacking, risking her own life." Milly says.

"I see..."

"I want to meet her as well." Rivalz says.

"And why is that?"

"If I meet her, I can become royalty."

"I'm sure that you won't meet her with such impure motives, Rivalz." Emily says.

"You sure know how to be harsh." He says with a depressed face. "But the president in on my side, aren't you?"

"Just because Lucian isn't going out with you don't ho turning your malice towards me."

"I've met her. She is such a lovely person." Emily says with a smile.

"You know her? How do you know her?" Nina asks, almost in despair.

"She invited Lucian to meet her." She says, a little surprised by Nina's reaction. "Didn't he told you all?"

Everyone says no, but I already knew of it, including the incident that made Lucian to stop visiting her and Nunnaly. I can only feel anger for what Lelouch did to her and I can't even imagine what he do when there is anyone around him. God, how much would I pay for some time alone with him...

"So he can arrange a meeting with her, can't he?"

"Sorry Nina, but it would be better if he don't do it."

"What do you mean? Why he can't do it? Isn't he my friend? ANSWER ME!"

"Nina!" I get up and grab her.

Before I do it, she was grabbing Emily's arm so strong that now she has red marks on it. After she notices what she had done, she starts to apologize frenetically. While everyone tries to calm her down, the telephone of the room rings and I am the one that answer it.

"Hello, Ashford Academy student council?"

"Suzaku?"

"Oni... Lucian?"

"Is there... anything unusual around there?"

"Yeah, there is. You are not here. Your sisters are worried about you, they say that you hadn't slept at home last night. Where are you?"

"Don't worry about it, okay? So, Shirley is there?"

"Shirley? No, she isn't here now, just like Kallen. Why, something happened?"

"It's just that... she asked me for some time to think and I got depressed over it. That's all that happened."

"I see... when do you come back?"

"I think that I'll be late tonight as well. Can you do me a favor? Keep them company while I am gone?"

"Sure, I can do it. Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes I am. As I said, don't wor... Gwahhh!" Arthur decides to jump on me and he starts to scratch my face.

"What's wrong?"

_**Lucian**_

"Nothing, don't... Arthur, stop!" And the call just ends like that.

"What kind of game they are playing over there?"

"Found anything?" Kallen asks with a serious face.

"It seems that she isn't there, but she didn't told anyone."

"So... how are we going to find her?" C.C asks.

"We still don't know if it was her that saw my face back there."

"But what if she saw? What are we going to do about her?"

"I don't know Kallen, but let's first find proof of yet and them we think about what we are going to do."

"Okay, what about the blood?"

"It'll take a little longer to know from who it is. For now we need to know where Shirley is. C.C go check the black market and see if my gun is there."

"Wasn't that girl the one who got it?"

"We aren't sure about it, so just check it, okay?"

"Fine." She leaves the room and Kallen and me are now the only ones inside.

"Who is she?"

"She is... a special friend."

"How long do you know her?"

"Not so long." I say while I lie in the coach of my office. "Let's just say that she, together with you, is my biggest ally in this fight."

"Okay them."

"Kallen, I need you o go to school and see if you can find out anything with the girls there. Can you do it for me?"

"Yes, I can."

Put a Line Here

"Why I am looking at someone's else underwear?" C.C asks.

"You don't expect me to do it, right?"

"She is your girlfriend and you don't really want to look at them? I can understand when you don't want to look at me, but her..."

"Just shut up and look for that shit, alright?"

We are looking at Shirley's room for my gun, but there is nothing so far, which makes me apprehensive. I have put my Geass on Shirley's roommate, so we won't be bothered, but I want to leave as soon as possible, so I am trying to do it quickly.

"There's no sign of that gun yet." C.C says as she sits on the bed and starts to read a book that looks like Shirley's diary.

"Hey stop looking at this."

"It's only goes to the 14th."

"That's the day her father died." I say while I find a box full of photos of me in any kind of situation.

"How can you suspect that she would be so sweet?"

"Stop the sarcasm, would you?" I look at the floor and I see a book that had fall when I took the box out: a book containing the times of the monorails.

Looking at the contend I find the entry of "Narita" marked on it and I think that I have just found where she might be. After telling C.C about this, I decide to take a little trip to Narita.

_**Shirley**_

I am looking at the monument created for those who died at Narita some time ago. It is beautiful and clear around here and I can see all the names of those people, eternally notched in the stone of an obelisk.

I look at what I am carrying inside my bag and I can only think about my father and Lulu. There is the gun that I stole and a picture of father.

("Lulu, how could you do this?")

"Yes, how could he, indeed?"

I look back and I see a man standing there, wearing sunglasses and blue clothes. He has a silver hair and I can't see his eyes.

"A fine memorial, right Shirley Fennete?"

("How does he knows my name?")

"I know a lot more than just that, like who is your family, your relationship with your dear Lulu and a lot of other things. You are a very naughty girl, aren't you? Specially some nights ago."

"How do you know about Lulu?"

"Oh my, I know everything about Lucian, my dear. The way you two started your relationship, details about every single date so far and even about that night when your father died. Even after he killed your father."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"The very same mouth that ordered your father to die has kissed you many times until now. He is a demon, but you still liked it, don't you?"

("How he can even know those things? Who are this man?")

"He deserves a true punishment, doesn't him? To him and to you."

"To me?"

"Yes, of course. I know what happened last night. I know that you killed that woman in order to protect him. You are a killer, just like Zero, or should I say Lulu?"

"Stop! Please just stop!"

"The worst part of it is that you used your fathers death to make him to do it with you, right?"

"No, that's not true!"

"Oh come on, don't give me this bullshit. You knew that he would pity you, so you played the role of the tragic heroine to get him to make it right? And you loved it."

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!"

"A girl that kills and go for the hero's love: only evil witches do that."

"You knew that the other girl, that Kallen was liking Lucian too, didn't you? So you enjoyed this tragedy to make him go for you." He gets near me and he starts to whisper in my ear. "Now you deserve punishment."

I go to the ground, on my knees and I start to cry inconsolably. The man smile and gives his hand to me.

"Do you want to carry those feelings for the rest of your life? Unless you and Lucian get rid of your sins, you'll both be sentenced to die miserably, drowned in your own crimes."

_**Lucian**_

"That girl, Shirley, what are you going to do when you find her?"

"I don't know."

"You know that she might know about your identity, right? If you don't do anything to deal with it, this might get problematic."

"I know, believe me." I sigh. "Anyway, what's up with those clothes?"

"Do you like it? I choose specially for you." It is a strange combination: looks like she got a European style from the middle age and left it more modern looking, with a short skirt and a strange red hat.

I don't answer and I just look at the window of the train as different scenarios pass in front of me. We are going to Narita to see if we can finally find Shirley, but I am worried about what I might have to do when I find her. I don't want to kill her, leaving only one alternative: use Geass on her. This is all speculation by now, but if she really saw my face, I have to do it, I can't just let anyone to know about me.

"If you really like something, you should keep it from a distance, not near you, or you might lose it."

"Experience?"

"No, that is how I live."

* * *

We arrive at a monument raised for those killed by that mudslide, but she is nowhere to be found. C.C and I decide to go into separate ways to look for her and I start to look for her. I look at reconstruction sites, ruins, the part of the city that hadn't been destroyed, but the hours pass and I continue to look for her, unsuccessfully.

I am walking as I think about what I might do when the time comes and I can't think about killing he, but I don't want to bend her will as my please and make her part of this sick game. Think from the beginning Lucian and try to remember if it was really her that you saw. Before I can give it more thought, my cell rings and I see that it is Shirley the one calling.

"I'm here. Where are you calling from?"

"Where indeed?"

I can hear two voices: one on the phone and one behind me and as I turn back I see a strange man standing there, using Shirley's phone. He hangs up and throws the phone at my feet and I look at him with all my anger.

"Your son of a bitch! What have you done to her?"

"I like it." He starts to applaud in a strange way. "The face of a man whose girl was stolen from him."

"What the hell did you do to her?"

"You want to know? Then I challenge you to a game that you know really well." He gets a chess piece from his pocket

* * *

We are at a monorail and we are playing chess as we go up. He is good and I am at the corner, but I think that I can win against him.

("It's him? He is the one who saw my face as well? I bet that this game is just a distraction. His real goal must be to get me to an isolated place.")

"You know, I've never actually played this game before."

("Calling on my phone, was he being theatrical? No, it must be because he didn't know how I look, that's why he called. This plan isn't so meticulously, so if that's the case, then...")

"Shouldn't you be more concentrated on this game?" He makes a movement.

"You liar, you have played before."

The game continues on and I eventually lose. I look at the board, without been able to believe that I lost to a guy like him.

"So, I've must assume that I won, right?"

("How can he predict every move? Who is this guy?")

"Didn't C.C told you about me?" I look at him again and he clap his hands. "Well done, you've just thought on 14 possibilities of who I am. And one of them is correct."

He puts his sunglasses out just a little and I see the Geass sigil on his eyes. Before I can use my own Geass on him, he puts them back.

"Don't even think about this. I know that to use your Geass you have to look right at my eyes, right? That's why I'm wearing those, you know?"

"You can read minds."

"You can say that if you want."

"What have you done to Shirley?"

"I've didn't killed her, don't worry, she is just fine." As he says this I see Shirley outside the monorail.

"Shirley!" I say as she points a pistol, my pistol, at me.

"Now them, let's begin the game of punishment, shall we?"

* * *

"Shirley, this gun..."

"Yes, it's yours, Zero's gun."

"If there's a time to use Geass, the time is now." Mao says as he pulls out a pistol. "But of course, if you use it on her, I will shoot you myself. And don't even think in using your martial arts to grab me or Shirley will shoot at you, right Shirley?"

("How his Geass works? It has a time lag? Any weakness that I can explore? There has to be something.")

"You can keep thinking about it for days, but you don't have days, do you? This is a fitting death for someone like you. I thief that steal what belongs to others."

"Lulu... die." I look at Shirley, surprised with her. "Don't worry, I'll die with you as well. We'll both atone for our sins."

"What?"

"She already killed one time, when she fired against the person who saw your face."

"That blood, it was..."

"It's time to end this, Lulu."

"Yes, yes, criminals should pay for their crimes, right?"

"You are making her do those things, aren't you?"

"Oh, how wonderful, you discovered how I work, but sadly, this can't save you right now."

"Shirley, listen to me, he is tricking you."

"C'mon, you are the one who is tricky here"

"STOP IT!" Shirley screams.

"If murder is a sin, don't get corrupted by it and increases it even more."

"I like your rhetoric, a very amazing one." He says.

"Are you sure that you killed someone? That he isn't playing with you?"

"She pulled the trigger and she knows it. Try to avoid the truth will only make it worst."

"Don't be fooled by him, Shirley!"

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT UP?!"

She fires and it almost gets my head, but I am got by the air of the bullet and I go down and all those photos of me, the ones that I found in Shirley's room, they fly away in the stairs. She starts to look at them and she put her gun down, shaking.

"Why do you hesitate? He is the one who killed your father! Don't you know that he is a sinner? Kill him now!"

"I... I can't!"

"All right them, I'll do it myself." He fell he pointing his gun at me.

"NO!" Shirley shoots, but she hits the monorail.

"Fine, consider it stopped, you two just do whatever you two want for now." He enters the monorail again and Shirley starts to fall, but I grab her before she hits the ground.

"Shirley, look at me, please just look at me."

"Lulu, I... I..."

"It doesn't matter now, do you hear me? It's all going to be okay for now."

"Lulu, I... LULU!"

She gets me out of the way as I hear a loud sound and she goes back, with blood coming out of her chest. I hear another sound and I see Mao there, holding a shotgun. I scream with hate and I go after him, getting the gun out of his hand as I break his arm. After he is on the ground, I go back to Shirley, who has a lot of blood coming out of her chest.

"Lulu, I..."

"Don't speak for now, we'll go to a hospital and you are going to be okay, do you hear me? I'll save you Shirley!"

"I love you so much... I can't believe that I tried to kill you."

"It doesn't matter, do you hear me? You are going to be okay, I'll make sure of it, so please don't die on me!"

"When you accepted to be my boyfriend and we slept together, it was the happiest moment of my life. To be with you filled me with happiness and joy."

"Same here, Shirley. Please, don't just abandon me!"

"I've had a dream where you and me where together, watching two little kids playing. One of them was a girl with your eyes and my hair and the other one was a little version of you. A new one was coming and we where both happy. I wish that we could be like that."

"We can, you just have to live!"

"I need you... to make me a promise."

"Whatever you want!" I say while I fell the path of tears in my face.

"Please... find another girl to make you happy. After what I did, I don't deserve to be with you. That girl... must take care of you like any other, you understand?"

"Don't say that, please don't." I turn my Geass on. "You have to live!"

"I know, but..." The rings around her eyes appear, but they are weak and almost fading away. "I don't hate you for killing my father, so please, don't hate yourself for this, alright?"

"Shirley!"

"Goodbye...Lulu... I love... you..." The rings around her eyes are gone and they are now empty and I can fell his body loosing his heat. I cry with her in my arms, wishing to return in time and to never be Zero, to continue as Lucian Lamperouge, but I can't and she continues there, lifeless.

I get up and I look for Mao, but he is gone by now, using my distraction with Shirley to run away. I swear to God that the second that I find him, I will male him suffer like he never suffered in his whole life. To avenge Shirley, I will go to hell itself, no matter how long it takes.

_**Suzaku**_

It is raining heavily today and it can't be different: It just shows the state of spirit of everyone on school. I think that a great amount of the people of Ashford is here today at this cemetery, a day that no one will be able to forget so soon: Shirley's funeral.

I look around and I see Milly, Kallen, Rivalz, Nina, Emily, Alice and other persons, all looking at the grave. Her mother is crying on the ground, and no one can say anything to support her: what do you say to a woman that lost his husband and a few days later, her only daughter? According to what I heard from Milly, Shirley went to Narita and Lucian have gone after her, but she was burgled there and one of the burglars shoot her.

I don't see Lucian here and I can understand him: he saw Shirley being killed and he couldn't save her, dying in his arms. He must be suffering Hell itself right now and no one can find him. I know how much he loved that girl and I can't even get a little share of what he must be suffering. After all that he suffered, I had hope that he might get finally happiness, but again fate steps in his way and not in the good way.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, mama is going with you." Shirley's mother says as she gets a gun from his purse and prepares to shot.

"Someone stops her!" I yell, but it's too late and I see when the bullet pass right through her head.

There's a fuss around here and Emily puts her head at my arm, trying to not look at her. Alice and the other girls are in shock and Nina starts to scream loudly as she sees something like that. I just look at her and I think about her last act of despair, a way to run away from this world of pain.

The police arrives and everyone is moved to a hospital nearby, where we should get medical consults for the trauma. Most of the students of Ashford might be in complete shock, including Nina who probably will be interned.

"I can't believe that she did it! Why he should..." Milly starts to say.

"It's easier to do it than living in pain." I say.

"How can you say something like that?"

"Experience, believe me."

Everyone keeps quiet after that and after a time, Emily suddenly asks:

"Where's oni-chan?"

"I don't know, why do you ask?" Kallen asks her back.

"It's just... after what we saw..."

"Don't worry about him, a guy like him would never do it." A horrible thinking cross my mind and Milly notices it. "He wouldn't, right?"

"I... I don't know."

"What do you mean that you don't know? There's any reason for you to doubt him?" Kallen asks worried.

I think about it and I decide to tell them my history with Lucian: the fact that we are brother, our life with father and our time during the war until we get separated for seven years. I finish my story and they are all pale from it.

"I... I've never knew..." Rivalz says.

"God, after all that he suffered, this had to happen? Why?" Milly says.

Kallen just sits on a bank, totally white and speechless. They all understand why I am worried about Lucian and they must be thinking the same thing. Emily starts to cry and to call for her brother.

"I'll find him!" I say while I get up.

"Suzaku..." His sisters look at me.

"I promise that I'll find him, no matter where he is and I'll bring him back home, okay?"

"O-okay."

The very moment I get out of the hospital I start to look: the settlement, the ghettos, anywhere, but I am not able to find him anywhere. As the night arrives, I start to get really worried and I run across every place that I can think. I talk with Lloyd to see if he can do something and Cecile helps me, looking at some files and talking with the police.

The sun rises in the horizon, but I hadn't found him yet. I sit on a bench in the park and I can't stop wondering: where are you, oni-san?

_**Kallen**_

"Are you sure that Zero didn't appeared here since the battle at the port?" I ask Ohgi about Zero.

"Yes, I am. There's anything that you need him for?"

"No... it's nothing important."

As I go away I can't stop thinking about what Suzaku told us. I already knew about they being brothers, but Lucian never told... God, I need to find him or else... I can't think that he might be dead, I just can't! Wherever he is, I'll find him!

I can't lose him again, not after we finally are together like this. This isn't just for me, but for every Japanese that needs Zero right now, so I'll look for him and if it's necessary, I'll look at every single corner of this whole country if I need to.

"Just wait for me, Lucian!"


	14. Stage 14: Vendetta

**Stage 14:**

**Vendetta**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

I am wandering in the streets of the ghettos, very late at night, looking for a way to find him: the one that I must kill in order to avenge her. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but I am going to find him and when I do, blood will shed without control. While I am doing this, I hear a sound behind me and I turn around, only to find that woman, C.C.

"C.C, who was that man? What kind of connection you two have?"

"His name is Mao and he was an... old ally, but that was a long time ago."

"Why you didn't told me about him? Didn't you said that we were allies? Why did you hid about his existence?"

"I never thought that he could appear like that, and moreover that he could kill that girl."

"It was you? The one that gave him his Geass?"

"Yes."

"Why he is here now? Why would he kill Shirley to get me?"

"It's not you, but me, the one he's after. He thinks that I belong to him."

"What do you mean?"

"He lost control of his Geass eleven years ano and he couldn't gets near people, so I was the only one that he could be around, since Geass doesn't affect me. But he proved to be a failure, sine he could not complete his contract with me."

"So you just left him alone? With the full knowledge about his uncontrollable power? Why you didn't killed him?"

"I..."

"This is all your fault! If you had never given him his Geass, then Shirley... she..."

"Listen, it would be better if you forget about her at once! Going after Mao would only bring suffering to yourself."

"SHUT UP!" I say while I punch her face with all my might. "I hate you! I wish that you would die right now! Disappear from my sight and never return!"

"Is that what you truly wish?" She says while a line of blood comes out of her mouth.

"Just go away!"

I look at a wall for some time and when I finally look back, she isn't there anymore. I can't see her and I wish that I won't see her ever again. I start to move when some stupid guy appears, trying to steal my wallet. Walking alone at night in the ghettos is dangerous, but I am a lot more than any person here and, right now, I don't care about murder.

* * *

"Chinese guy, silver hair, wearing blue clothes and sunglasses who goes by the name "Mao". Do you know where he is?"

"I have no idea."

"Very well. You are useless then." I say while I start to go away and the effect of my Geass is gone, leaving dealer confused.

That is the fifth dealer that I ask, but no one of the knew where Mao is and I am starting to think that any of them know about him. As I look at the rising sun I start to feel fatigued, which is understandable for a man that spent the whole night looking for information related to that man.

I think again about going home to get a change of clothes, but I can't do it, not now. I can't go back in this state, otherwise I would hurt those that I care for, so I don't come back right. I find a empty house that doesn't looks too fragile and I enter in, hoping to get some hours of sleep and I lost my sense the second I lie in the floor.

I open my eyes and it is a sunny day, with the sun so bright that it hurts my eyes for a second. When I can open them again, I see an impossible scene: two kids are playing in a yard filled with flowers: a boy and a girl. The boy has black hair and it is chasing a girl with a long orange hair and when he gets her, they both fall to the ground, laughing in harmony.

When they look at me I see two pairs of purple eyes that are the same as mine and I sense something getting my hand. I look at what it is and I see another hand holding it and looking at who is the owner of it, I see two yellowish green eyes looking back at me: Shirley's eyes. She is there, smiling at me, like there is just the four of us in this world.

"Why didn't you protected me, Lulu?" She says while blood starts to shed from her eyes, nose and mouth. I get up, horrified and I see the children turning into dust as Shirley lies to the floor, dead. I get her body and I see Mao looking at us, with C.C hugging him and they are both laughing at me, while I am unable to save the woman that I love.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I open my eyes and I look at the ceiling of the old house that I am using to get some sleep. It was a nightmare, just a terrible nightmare, but I can feel the tears coming out of my eyes, unstoppable.

"Are you okay?"

I look at who is talking to me and I see a man sitting next to me and he has a worried look on his face. There isn't anything flashy in his appearance besides the rotten clothes that he is wearing. I sit down and I can smell alcohol in the air and I see dozens of bottles in the corner.

"Can you hear me?" He asks me.

"Yes, I can. What are you doing here?"

"I live here, so I'm the one that should ask this."

"I just wanted a place to rest, that's all."

"I'm not complaining, actually it would be good to have some company." He rearranges himself to a more comfortable position and he looks at me again. "What are a Britannian boy like you doing here at the ghettos?"

"None of your business."

"Fine with me." He opens a bottle and starts to drink from it and after he is satisfied, he handle it to me. "One swig?"

I don't say anything, but I grab the bottle and I drink it all, like a puppet would to when his mother gives him milk. I drink everything from the bottle, but I almost spit every drop of it as the I fell the taste of it. I look at him again and he is already putting another bottle in his mouth.

"Pathetic, right?" He puts it out of his mouth and looks at me. "I used to be a man of family, a respected businessman and now look at me, stinking of cheap beer and without any real possession."

"Do you lost it all when Britannia attacked?"

"My wife died at the first attack, she was working at the harbors when it began and my little girl followed her some days after. Since them I started to drink to forget all that, but I sleep and I dream of them, dying in front of me."

"I know how it is, I've lost some precious persons as well."

"I tried to commit suicide, but I'm too coward to do it and I'm too coward to try to go on without them. There's no hope for us, the Japanese."

"Why do you say that?"

"It doesn't matter what those "Black Knights" or anyone else say, they can't get everything back to what used to be. There was so much destruction, so much blood that now we can't just forget about it and let it into the past."

"Maybe you are right..."

"I just wish that I could be brave enough to end it all by myself."

"I see... is that your wish? Your only wish?"

"Yes."

"Then... I'll do it for you." I say while I get my knife and I cut his throat.

He doesn't looks at me with anger, surprise or pain, but with relief from being free. I look at him until he stops moving and I get all the bottles, pouring it all on his body. I get some matches and I put fire on him, leaving the building afterwards. Even when I am out of the ghetto, I am still stinking of alcohol.

* * *

I have changed my clothes and now I am in a chic restaurant in the settlement, a place where I will find a very special person: a information broker who goes by the name "The Spider", said to know everything that happens in Area 11. He is a very slippery guy, but after some questions using my Geass I discovered that he would be here.

If someone knows where a person like Mao is, it would be him, and if he doesn't, I will kill him anyway, since he is a treat to Zero and the Black Knights. Two birds with one sledgehammer.

According to my last informant, he is the kind of person that you can't miss in the crowd, so after I "convince" the manager to let me in, I start to look for him and I see a very strange figure in the middle of the place. I understand now why he is called "The Spider": he wears dark clothes, is pale like a skull, with long black hairs and make up covering his face, making him looks like he has eight eyes, with the real one covered by a sunglass. The most interesting thing, however, is the webs that he uses up his clothes, making he looks like a real spider.

I go towards him and I sit in front of him, with the two diggers who were at his lap looking at me with surprise in his faces. He only looks at me after some time and when he finally do, he is not interested.

"What do you want, Copy?"

"Copy?"

"I know that you aren't Prince Lelouch, so what do you want?"

"How do you know that?"

"The prince is attending a lunch alone at the Government Bureau. Seems like he does it quite often nowadays, which is to be expected, knowing the way he treats her family."

"You are good. So, tell me why I am here."

"That I don't know, but I know that you are a student of Ashford Academy, the little genius and star of the school, Lucian Lamperouge."

"I'm honored that the great Spider knows about me."

"I don't have this name for nothing. Anyway, what exactly do you want?"

"I'm looking for a man."

"Really? The one who killed your girlfriend?"

"Exactly."

"Why should I help you in any way?"

"You know why I want him, don't you?"

"Revenge? How cliché." He says, snapping his fingers and one of the woman in his lap putting a cherry inside his mouth. "However, I am very expensive."

"What about a deal? Information for information?"

"What kind of information would a boy like..."

"Zero's identity."

He looks at me, all the boring look disappearing from his face. He yell to the girls to get out and we go to a more private place, where we won't be interrupted. We sit and he tells me to ask for anything and I ask for a bottle of wine.

"Aren't you a little too young?"

"None of your business. So what do you think of our deal?"

"Let me see." He looks at me with his covered eyes and I feel an unfamiliar feeling in my spine as he looks at me, like I am being scanned. After some time, my wine arrives and he is perplexed. "You are telling the truth: you know who Zero is."

"Did you doubted me?"

"You would tell this to me just to get revenge? Who are you?"

"A member of the Black Knights."

"I've never heard of you among them."

"You know who is in their ranks?"

"Of course I know! The only one who I hadn't discovered is his leader, that bastard! Up until now I've been trying to discover this, but he is good at preserving his identity and, so far, nothing. But now, with you here, I can make millions!"

"And why you hadn't told the military yet?"

"They don't want the scum, but the gold, and this is Zero."

"How do you know that I'm going to tell the truth?"

"I have my means."

"Geass, for example?"

He practically jumps from his chair, shocked with what I said. As he sits again, he put off his glasses, revealing a blind eye on his right eye and a Geass sigil on his left one. He smiles at me after revealing this.

"You have one as well, right?"

"Yes."

"I see... Does Zero knows?"

"It's the reason of why I am in the Black Knights."

"Of course... He trusts you that much?"

"With his own life."

"And you are going to tell me who he is in order to get your revenge?"

"Yes, I will."

"Hum..." He looks at me with his asymmetric eyes. "How do you know that I had Geass?"

"Instincts."

"That's fine with me. What is your power?"

"I can make people to kill themselves with eye contact."

"Sounds useful."

"Very much, actually."

"How do I know that you aren't going to do it with me after I hang what you want?"

"You just need to put back your sunglasses." He puts them on again. "See, now I can't use it on you."

"Now, for what you want... meet me in this address at midnight and I will give you what you want."

* * *

I arrive at the place several minutes earlier and I start to wait for him, restless with impatience. In some minutes I will know where Mao is and I will be able to finish it all. I hear the sounds of cars and he enters the abandoned building with at least ten armed cronies behind him.

"Do you have what I demanded?" I ask him.

"Here it is." He handle me a suitcase and I open it, seeing papers containing a lot more than what I asked him. "As a bonus, I decided to give you everything that I've got about him."

"Very pleased about this."

"Now, tell me who Zero is."

"Very well them. The problem is, you already know."

"What?"

"He is right in front of you."

He looks at me surprised, almost in shock when he hears about that, but his Geass tells him that I am not lying. He starts to laugh as he had never laughed before in his life, making his henchmen to look at him, a little scared.

"So, Zero is in front of me, how delightful. It will please me even more from killing you."

"Kill me?"

"You know about my secret, so I can't let you live now. No heartbreaks, right?"

"Actually, no." I stand up and I look at them all. "The problem is that a living corpse can't kill anyone or even make demands, can he?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you are dead." I snap my fingers.

Shots start to come from the shadow corners of the room and the Spider and his group can't fight back, which ends it quite quickly. After they all fall, the dealers that I used my Geass on get out of the corners.

"It's over, your Highness?"

"Yes, it is. Now you all can die."

"Yes, my lord!" They point the guns at themselves and fire.

"How... how did you...?" The Spider asks, alive and confused.

"I lied about my Geass's power."

"Impossible!... No one can lie to me!"

"It wasn't a lie, but a half-truth. Sorry about it, no heartbreaks, right?"

I get out of the building as he continues to struggle for his life, however, he can't continue to live. I press a button in a little device in my hand and the whole building goes away, leaving no evidence of the man who used to be the "Spider".

* * *

I arrive at the hotel that Mao is using while he is in Tokyo and using my Geass I finally reach his room, taking a breath before I enter it. I open the door, only to find it empty and without any sign of him. I sit on the bed and I start to think about waiting for him, but as the time passes, I can't stop the feeling that he might not come this night.

I have read the files from him and I discovered that he spent most of his life isolated from any human being, alone in the countryside of the Chinese Federation. During a time in his childhood, a mysterious woman with green hair appeared in his life, but she vanished years later and that is it about C.C.

I lie on the bed, exhausted, when I see a cell phone, from the disposable type, lying in a corner. I grab it and I see that there is two calls to the same number: my cell phone. Looking at it, I try to remember where I left it... C.C! She must be the one who is with it right now, so she must be...

Think Lucian, think... Where he could be right now? What did he talked with C.C? I look at the files once again and I see that he was at Clovisland today, stirring in the electric system of the place. It is closed now in honor of his creator, so it must be the perfect place for an ambush to that woman... I don't know why, but I can't let her to face him like that, because I know that she can't kill him.

I get up, with a plan starting to form inside my head. I just hope that I am right about Clovisland, or else...

_**C.C**_

I arrive at Clovisland, just like Mao told me to do. Lucian is right about being my fault that she girl is dead, so now I need to fix this. If I can kill him now, Lucian won't need to do it himself and only get even more broken than he already is.

The second I step in, the lights turn on and the whole park starts to work. I look around for him, but there is nothing.

"C.C! Your mind is so quiet. It's the only one I can't read! You really are the best." He is in a carousel, mounting one of the horses, with one of his arms broken.

"As childish as ever, Mao."

"I'm your prince in a white stallion and a prince has to rescue the princess, am I right?"

"I told you already: you and I..."

"You are lying! You love me, I know it." He says, putting off his earphones and I hear myself, telling him motivational things.

"Stop it already!" As I say this, I remember a little boy screaming for silence and I tell him to only hear my voice. I fell pain as I remember what I did to this child as I see the man that he became.

"You are the only one! Once and always! Lucian doesn't matter, we..."

"Shut up!" I say, getting a pistol from inside my pocket. "I should have done this a long time ago."

Before I can fire, Mao grabs his own pistol and he shoots, hitting my shoulder. I get on my knees and my gun is gone, with me tottaly at his mercy.

"Don't worry, we'll get over our problems, I know that we will!"

"Shut up! I just used you, that's all!"

"You shouldn't lie like that." He fires again, at my other shoulder. "Lies are very naughty, you know?" Two more bullets enter my two legs, making me scream with the pain.

"Mao..."

"I've built a really gorgeous house in Australia, a place where no one will interfere with us. The only problem is that we need an airplane to get to Australia and you are a little to big to be in the luggage, so we need to make you shorter." He goes to some brushes and he gets a chainsaw, with some difficult, because of his broken arm. "Don't worry, I'll just make you more compact and, with this, this won't take longer."

"Are you getting your revenge?"

"No, no, no, no, no, of course not!"

"So this is where you are, Mao?"

I look at who is talking and I see Lucian there, looking at Mao without emotions. I can't believe that he found this place, but now he needs to leave at once! I can't allow him to she spill more blood for nothing!

"How did you...?" Mao asks him, horrified.

"You weren't paying attention, that's all."

"Stay away from me! Or else I will blow up an entire hospital!"

"Really?"

"Ye-yes and I'll even..." He looks at him, scared like a little rat.

"What's the problem? It is what you are seeing inside my mind? Do you see that I don't care about what happen to others as long as I get you? Because if you are seeing this, you better run before I decide, Mao."

He runs and I scream to Lucian to stop, but he doesn't listen to me, catching Mao as he runs for him. He presses a point in Mao's neck and he goes unconscious and I start to fell the darkness coming to get me.

* * *

I wake up and I smell blood coming from a room behind a wooden door. I am lying on a bed in a place that looks like a garage for cars, with tools and auto pieces scattered all over the place. I get up and I goes to the other room, fearing what I might find in the other side of it.

The first thing that I notice is the blood, spilled everywhere of the room, but the second thing is what is in the center of the room: a chair that looks like one of the used by dentists to see his patients teeths, but what lies in that thing almost makes me puke.

It is a body, or at least what used to be a body, but now it is just a piece of meat, impossible to see it as a human being. I start to go at it and I see why there is so much blood: the body's skin was cut off and it is lying all over the place. I can see that the members of that person were cut as well, with the cut pieces in a corner of the room. with the wounds burned to avoid a loot of blood loss.

I look at the face and I can't see his eyes, what suggests that someone took them off. I look in horror as I goes backward, but I fall to the floor and on top of an amount of skin. I try to get up and I see a pair of sunglasses and earphones in the ground near the chair and I finally understand who he is.

I get off the building and I puke again, while the smell of salty water comes to my nose. I look around and I see a person standing in front of the sea, in the middle of a harbor, with his back at me.

I get near him and I see Lucian there, holding a gun. He points the pistol at his head and I know what he is about to do.

"LUCIAN!" And I can hear a shot in the silent night.

_**Suzaku**_

"Sorry guys, but I didn't found him yet."

"He's been missing for two days by now! Haven't the police found him?" Milly asks worried.

"No, I... I don't know where else he might be." I look at them all.

Everyone hadn't slept for the last night and now we are all worried at where he might be. I still have that bad sensation from when I told everyone that story, which makes me more worried than before. I look at the moon and I can stop thinking about him and he might be... No! I can't give up just yet. I'll only believe it when I saw with my very eyes and, until something like that, I will continue to look, no matter how long it takes.

_**Kallen**_

"He hadn't appeared in two days?"

"Yes Kallen, but don't worry, he does this once in a while, remember? The only thing is that General Katase is getting impatient by his absence, but besides this, nothing to worry, right?"

"Yeah... right." I look at the floor, almost crying. "Call me if you get anything, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

I fall to the floor with my head at the wall, worried about what might have happened to him. His sisters are worried sick and no one knows of his whereabouts. I start to cry and sob, knowing that he might not be around us anymore.

"Please God, don't make he be it... I beg you!"

_**C.C**_

The water is a little hot, but I think that it is fine for what I want. I pick his body and I start to put off his clothes, but he doesn't shows any reaction from it. I pick him up and I put him in the large bathtub and the water starts to get red from the blood in his body.

Lucian doesn't complain about the temperature of the water, so I start to wash his lifeless body and he still doesn't show any movement. After he is clean, I get him out and I start to dry him, smoothly like a cat would to his puppet.

I put some clothes that I found in a wardrobe in the room and I left him in the bed while I go see around the manor if there is any food here. I am so worried about him that I don't care if there is pizza here, but I found some ingredients and I make a soup for him. It isn't so elaborated, but it must fill his stomach.

After it is done, I put it on a plate and I go back to the room with two plates in a silver tray, hoping that he eats. I get inside and I find him at the same place as before, in the same position.

"There you go: something to heat you up and make you fill your belly. I know that I'm not that good as a cooker, but I think that it's edible... I hope." I make him sit and I put a spoon in his hand. "Okay, now eat."

He just stares at the wall and I decide to give him a little help, putting the spoon filled with soup at his mouth and I thank any divine entity that makes him swallow it. After it is done I clean his mouth and I look at his face, a face without any will to live.

I recall what happened after I left the place where he killed Mao: he didn't shoot himself, but he pointed the gun out of his head at the last second and now he is like this, a simple ghost, an empty shell.

I dragged him around after I burn that place, stole a car and I found this empty manor, with the owners probably in Britannia by now. I eat my own soup with him at my side, but he doesn't react yet.

"Hey, if you don't get out of this, your sisters are going to be worried about you. Why don't you go back to your stupid and arrogant personality?" I look at his face, but no answer comes out of his mouth. "I don't care about what you did, okay? It doesn't matter now! Please, you need to get back to normal, for your sisters! For Kallen, Suzaku and everyone else! For me!"

He continues at this state until I decide to sleep and I find a bed big enough for the two of us and I put him there, lying at his side. I sleep for some time, but when I wake up, the moon is there, but he isn't at my side. I get up, desperate and I find him at the window, looking outside.

"Look at those people: living normal lives, without being worried about the monster amongst them all."

"Lucian..."

"I shouldn't be alive right now, not after what I did, C.C. But it's like that guy said: I'm not brave enough to do it myself."

"Stop it! Please, just..."

"I can't go back to Ashford now, I might end up hurting anyone there..."

"STOP IT!" I say while I go at him and I embrace him, putting my head at his shoulder.

"Why? Why would you care for me?" He looks back, crying. "I've hurt you, I've killed Mao, so why..."

"You are my comrade! That's all!"

"Comrade? This is just because you want me to fulfill that contract!"

"No, that's not it! I just... can't let you hurt yourself like that."

"C.C, I don't even know the real you, neither your name, so why should I..."

"*********"

"What?"

"That's my name. My real name, the one given by my parents."

"Is this true?"

"Yes."

I continue to hold him as the time pass, but this time there is a different air around us and I can sense his feelings. I have never told anyone my name, but I don't want to lose him, so I did it in order to stop his trauma.

He falls to the floor and he starts to cry out loud as he continues to suffer. I hug him again, but this time he grabs me and, with him at my arms, he puts out his feelings.

"The way I killed Mao..."

"It doesn't matter."

"Shirley would be ashamed of me..."

"She is dead. I'm with you now."

"Even after what I said to you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know either."

* * *

I wake up and I see that he is still sleeping at my chest, hugging my body. Right now he doesn't looks like the biggest enemy of the Empire or a murderer, but as a normal boy that is pretty tired. I hold him near me and I fell his heat and I wonder why I am feeling those things for him.

I have never felt that way with any person in the world so far, so I wonder if this is "love" or something else. Either way, all that I want right now is to be near him and to help him to achieve his goals.

"It's good that way." He speaks.

"Really?"

"Yes. Thanks C.C"

"Okay."

He sits up, a lot more relaxed than last night, with some of his worries gone by now. He breathes with his eyes closed and when he looks at me again, there is determination in his face.

"I won't be like that ever again."

"I know."

"You know... yesterday, when I had the feeling that Mao could just get you away from me, I started to get scared."

"Why?"

"I was scared to lose the only person that I can tell all my secrets. I think that I understand Mao a little now."

"Yes... Let's go home, Lucian."

"Fine with me."

_**Suzaku**_

I am at the entrance of Ashford and the sun is rising in the morning sky, but so far I hadn't found him. I am starting to lose my hope and maybe he really... I look at the street and I see someone coming this way, which makes me look at him more carefully.

When I notice who it is, my hearth just stops: It is him! Lucian is walking in the streets in his way to Ashford, without any scratch. I start to run in his direction and he seems to recognizes me, but I land a punch at his face before he can says anything.

"Where have you been? Do you even know how much worried we all have been?"

"Suzaku... I..."

"I don't want to hear excuses! There's no way I am going to forgive..."

"I am sorry."

I look at him and I see his guilty as I understand: he never meant to kill himself, but he just needed some time. I help him to get up, but I almost fall from the tiredness.

"Why you are so tired? My sisters know that I do this sometimes."

"What, spending days away, getting everyone worried?"

"Well... yes."

"Shirley's mother... she committed suicide in the funeral."

"That's very... sad." He looks down. "Wait just a second, did you guys thought that I..."

"Y-yeah, we really..."

"C'mon, you all should know me better than this. Of course, I am sad about Shirley, but I would never do it because of a loss." He looks sad. "I'm already used."

I hug him, relieved that he is fine. Of course he is fine, how could I thought that he might do something like that? My brother isn't so weak at the point to do it just because of despair.

When everyone sees him, there's a lot of tears, apologies and others stuff. After Milly enacts that we should all get ourselves some rest from those days, stating about a field trip, we all agree in to go sleep.

Lucian let me use his bed, even after I tell him that it won't be necessary, but he says that Alice and Emily want to sleep with him, so I shouldn't be worried. I don't know why, but he seems different from before, like he passed for something that relieved him of his pain. I don't give it much thought as I get in the bed, falling asleep immediately.

Good dreams, Oni-sam.


	15. Stage 15: Master's Legacy

**Stage 15:**

**Master's Legacy**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"General Katase, It's good that we are able to meet, at least."

"I agree, Zero, but can I ask what took your time during those days that no one could reach you?"

"I had to take care of private matters, but don't worry, they won't bother me again. I am also took care of a very dangerous individual that threatened the Black Knights."

"I see... so what do you want from me now?"

"Cooperation."

"What do you exactly mean by that?"

"Do you want a free Japan? A place where its people are called Japanese, not a mere number? If you really want it, then join me!"

"If I agree in such terms, what do I gain?"

"Power to face Britannia, hope for a new and bright future. It's up to you now what path do you choose, Tatewaki Katase."

I am meeting General Katase at the Black Knights hideout and I am trying to convince him to join the Black Knights. Ohgi and Kallen are at my sides and he has two men at both his sides as his bodyguards. This man has only one option if he wants to continue his fight, and we both know what he is going to choose.

"I own you for putting me out of that tanker before the attack, that's true." He gets up, only to get on his knees. "Very well, for now on, I will serve you, Zero, as a loyal servant."

Just like I thought, he is a honored man, so he now is under my command and, if I know Tohdoh, he is going to join me as well. Now, what else can interrupt me?

* * *

"Field trip?" I ask confused.

"Of course. This trip is to help us to forget those ugly things that have been happening." Milly answers.

"To where?"

"To a inn near Mount Fuji. It's a good place, where they don't care if you are Eleven or Britannian."

"Really?" Suzaku looks at her with a surprised face.

"It's in an Eleven style, so that's why."

Everyone starts to get excited about this trip, but I didn't liked the idea that much. It means that I will lost some days as Zero and the Black Knights hadn't found Tohdoh yet, so I don't know if I am going in that thing.

"And the presence is obligatory for all the council." Milly adds.

That witch! She planned it so I can't refuse right now! I look at her while everyone else in the room talks about that trip with happiness, but I can only think of it as troublesome.

* * *

"A clearance?"

"That's right Ohgi. After all that happened, I think that everyone deserves it, specially the seniors members."

"But why so sudden?"

"Don't you want it?"

"Well... it would be good to have some free time."

"So it's decided then. Enjoy it while you can."

I hand up and I sigh, thinking about all my lost time, but I have to agree that everyone needs a rest in order to clear their heads. We are about to enter the bus that is going to leave us there and everyone is wearing normal clothes, not the uniform like always, so it is quite interesting to see everyone like that.

We start to go and there are only the council here, since it is the trip of the council as a club. It is a little bus, so there's only space for the six of us: in the first line there is Suzaku at the window, I am in the center and Rivalz is in the corridor. The second line has, from the window to the corridor, Milly, Nina and Kallen.

"So, where exactly is this Inn?" Suzaku asks them.

After Milly tells him, I look in front of me, remembering that very same place. I smile as I relax a little and I remember the first day that I spent in this place.

**2010 A.T.B**

"For now on, this is going to be our house."

A little Lucian looks at a very simple house, built in Japanese stile and looking as old as the Japan. The sliding door is open and Lucian sees a lot of dust and spiders all over the place, making the girls scared.

"It looks like... a place that hadn't been cleaned."

"It's because you are the one that will clean it."

"Me? But I don't..."

"If you don't clean it fast, you will sleep outside, okay? And your sisters can't help you, they are so little, poor things."

The master goes to a round rock and he sits, leaving only the boy looking at him. After some time he starts to clean the house, but he doesn't know what to do besides throwing water at it. He is lucky that the house only has three rooms: a main room, a side room and a kitchen, but the boy uses the whole day to clean it up.

"Looks good for the first time." He says while he looks at the cleaned house. "I've brought some ingredients." The old man points to some bags in his hands. "Now, cook for us."

"Wait, what?!"

"Cook something edible, would you?" He says, going to the side room. "Just saying, this is my room for now on."

Lucian looks at the closed door, barely believing what he just said. With his sisters looking at him, he goes to the kitchen and he tries to do something edible. In the end he just manages to do fried rice, the only recipe that he knows. It isn't so bad, but the master tells that it is too salty and he should use more pepper on it.

Lucian is washing the dishes and he starts to wonder when his training is going to begin. It's almost the end of December and they were moving to place to place as they look for a place to live and, in the end, they found this house. It is located in a zone near Mount Fuji, a place that wasn't torn apart by the attack, so there are a lot of Japanese around here.

After he finishes his work, he goes to the main room, the place that will be his room for now on, an he just lies on the Futon, tired like he never was. He starts to get dreams about housework, which means that he don't get so much sleep.

"Lucian, wake up." Someone pushes the sleeping boy. "It's time for training."

"Hum... what...?"

"Wake up, your lazy brat."

Lucian gets up and he takes some time to put his clothes on, switching pieces due to his lack of sleeping. When he finally gets outside, the sun isn't in the sky and it is pretty dark, whit the master holding a lamp in his hand.

"What time is it?"

"Don't worry about it, just about your training." He says, while he puts his lamp in the ground. "Shaw we begin?"

By the time the sun was already high in the sky, Lucian was covered in sweat and brands of the many times he felt to the floor. Myagi isn't a nice teacher and every time the boy made a mistake, he gives the little one a blow at his head, hurting him even more.

The master also makes him do the breakfast and all the meals during the day, as well as cleaning the house. In the end, the boy can barely move his muscles as he lies on the floor again, and he knows that the next day is going to be as bad as this one.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

We arrive at our destination: a typical Japanese Inn, one of those that used to be everywhere before the invasion. Everyone gets their luggage and we guys go to our room to put our things there. We left everything in there, but the girls enter the room as well.

"What are you all doing here?" Rivalz look at them with surprise.

"I just thought that one room for everyone was enough. That way we can have a lot more fun."

This is just like Milly, to put everyone in the same room. I look at her while everyone starts to complain about this, specially Nina and Kallen, but Rivalz likes the idea (I wonder why *sarcasm*) and Suzaku doesn't care. We guy have to go to the bathroom to get changed to the clothes that the Hotel gave to us for use during our stay: yukatas.

I am wearing a black one, while Suzaku uses a white and Rivalz a green one. We get out of the bathroom and we find the girls already changed: Kallen is using a yellow one, Milly a purple and Nina a blue. Milly says that we are all free to do whatever we want, so I decide to go with Suzaku to walk around and see the places around.

"It's sure nostalgic, right?" Suzaku starts to talk.

"Yes, it is. Seems like an eternity since the last time I used something like this."

"Me too. You know, I've been thinking that we should... you know... fo to someplace together."

"You and me?"

"Like brothers, of course."

"I understand it." I say while I poke his forehead.

"Ouch."

"Did it hurt?"

"A little."

"Sorry."

We look at the sky while I think about all those years that we spent separated from each other, missing those times when we were pure from the world's malice. I look at Mount Fuji as memories start to pass in my mind, memories that belongs to the past.

**2012 A.T.B**

"Happy birthday, Emily."

Emily is wearing a white Kimono and the rest of them are around her, praising how beautiful she is now. The little girl is all smiles and joy, while her brother just praises her, with Myagi drinking more and more sake each second that pass. She is completing nine years old now and is enjoying this little party held for her, but Lucian probably is enjoying a little bit more, since he didn't had to train in this day.

The night finally ends and Lucian is cleaning the room, very quiet to don't wake them up, and he sees that Emily still holds the neko statue that he gave to her, making the boy smile. He finishes his job and he decides to watch the moon a little longer before going to sleep.

Outside, he finds the old man drinking tea, all alone and he sits at his side, in a silent that is only stopped by the wind. The boy looks at the full moon with a feeling of sadness: he used to do this same thing with his old teacher, a man that died to protect him and Suzaku.

"It's so peaceful, looks like the war with Britannia was just a bad dream, right?"

"Yes, sensei."

They continue to be like that for a long time, so long that Lucian wonders if the time had stopped. He remembers Suzaku and tears appear in his eyes, but he hides them, hoping that Suzaku is okay, whenever he is right now. He goes to his futon, dreaming about the times spent with Suzaku.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"What about a bath? Like the old times?"

"Sounds good."

One of the things that happened during my absence was that Suzaku told everyone about our childhood together and that we are brothers and everyone accepted it without questioning. Emily and Alice even started to call him "oni-san" when anyone was around. He doesn't says anything, but I know that he is happy about it, to finally be able to be open with everyone.

We arrive at the doors of the bath and we take the door to the men's room, change our clothes and we sip in the water, feeling our muscles relaxing as we enter the water. While I am inside it, everything related to Zero and my worries disappear as I relax my body completely.

"That's another thing that I was missing during these years: an open bathhouse."

"Said everything."

As we relax we start to hear familiar voices, but we didn't cared at the beginning, but as the people to which those voices belong enter the bathhouse, I notice that they are all females and worst, from the student council. We are in a point hidden from the entrance, so they don't see us at the moment, but when Suzaku wants to get up and warn them, I grab his towel and I tell him, without using words, that it would be dangerous to show himself, since I don't know what their reactions might be.

"So, Kallen, do you have any boy that suits your tastes?"

"What are you talking out of the nothing, President?"

"C'mon, we are all girls, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"So who do you like, President?"

"Lucian, of course."

"Wait, what?"

"Imagine the scene: I've always liked him, but I let Shirley to be with him, suffering every second that I saw them together, hoping for the moment that he can be mine."

"Stop joking! This isn't funny at all! Shirley just..."

"I know, I know... you are right, this wasn't funny at all." After some time of an awkward silence between them, Milly starts another topic. "But being serious now, if you could be with any guy from the council, who would be?"

"Again this?"

"This has nothing to do with... her, but it has to do with our own tastes. You can tell the truth if you want."

"Again, who do you think?"

"Lucian or Suzaku."

"And Rivalz?" Nina asks with an undertone.

"He's good as a friend, but just as a friend." I hope that he never listen to the President talking like that, for his own sake. "Now it's your turn, Nina."

"Me?"

"Yes, of course! You are so quiet, probably there's one of them that would make you happy."

"There's no one like that." She says, scared.

"And you Kallen."

"Same as Nina."

"C'mon, tell me the truth!" I can hear the sound of water and some screams, but they suddenly stop. "Kallen... I didn't knew you were so develop in hair down here!"

"Stop staring!" Kallen says as I start to get hot, and it is not from the water.

"There's no problem: look at mine." I can start to feel some blood coming out of my nose and I see Suzaku in the same situation as me. "See? We don't have secrets to each other."

"Wow, is so pink! Looks like..."

"Wanna taste?" Stop this Milly, for God's sake!

"President!"

"Just kidding, I'm not into girls. Hey Nina, you weren't the only one that didn't showed us."

"Wait, STOP!"

They continue to talk about those perverted things as the time pass and I wonder how I am holding it up without... after a time that looked like hours, they get out of the bathhouse and Suzaku and me can finally get out.

"We'll never, I say never, talk about this again, okay?"

"I agree with you! Let's just forget any information that we heard back there."

* * *

"Hey guys, what's with the gloomy faces?" Rivalz looks at me and Suzaku, a little worried.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing weird happened!" Suzaku says, erecting his back.

"Okay... Do you two know where the girls are?"

"No, any idea. Why?"

"Nothing, it's just that I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen."

I look at Suzaku and we both think the same thing: if they discover about the fact that we heard them at the bath... well, let's just say that Rivalz's bad feeling will become real. We both look at the wall and we stay in silence inside the room, even with Rivalz's attempts to start a conversation.

"Hello!" Milly appears in the door, red and a little dizzy.

"President, what...?"

The two other girls appear at the door and they look similar to Milly: red and dizzy. Milly sits at my side and I smell something that starts to bring memories: alcohol.

**2014 A.T.B**

Lucian enters the house and he smell alcohol, but a lot more than the normal, so much that he has to cover his nose. He goes to the master's room and he discovers the reason for the smell: Myagi sleeping with a bunch of bottles around him.

It's pretty normal for Lucian to find him like this, but never in the middle of the day, or at home. He goes to the kitchen, fills a bucket with cold water and he pours it all over the old man head. He wakes up confused, like he doesn't know where he is, but soon he recovers his senses.

"What in hell are you thinking? Drinking like that at home? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"Shut up boy. I just took a little more than normal."

"A little? The whole house smells like alcohol! You are lucky that Emily and Alice are at the school, or I would kick your ass right now!"

"Like you could beat me. It would take at least..."

Before he can finish, Lucian grabs his arm and he puts him on the floor, but in the futon, to avoid hurting him. The man looks confused, but he understands what happened and he shows a sad face.

"Satisfied?"

"You only did this because I am drunk."

"Why? Why do you drink like that? Just to look like a stupid and ended old man?"

"You are right... I should stop this, but... I'm just too weak."

"Just what you think."

"Look, I'm not what I used to be, so I drink to forget all my mistakes in the past."

"Where they that bad?"

"I've never told you... but I think that I should, since my days are ending."

"What?"

"I... don't have much time to live."

"Is that true?"

"Yes... I may only live another year, even less"

"Why?"

"I have a disease... without a cure."

"I see... Will you finish training me?"

"Yes, I have that time, but after that... I fear that I can't stay much longer."

"Should I tell them?"

"No! You should not tell anyone about this. I don't want those girls to suffer more than they already have."

"I see... Then at least help me to get rid of this smell."

Lucian opens the doors to let air into the house while the master thrown the bottles in the garbage. Lucian doesn't look at him, but he is sad about the old man. He was tough and always pushed the boy tothe limit, but he always did the best to protect the young one from dangers, as well as his sisters.

With a weight in his hearth he doesn't tell the girls about what he discovered earlier, but they notice his change of mood, but they know when Lucian wants to be left alone. At night, the boy starts to think about what do to with his life after Myagi is gone, but he decides to give this more thought in the future, not now.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"How did you three manage to get drunk?" Suzaku asks about the girls current state.

"We accepted something that the manager gave us... he said that it was tea... but this is way better than tea!" Milly says, happy and giggly.

I hear a knock in the door and. when I open it, I see the manager apologizing about the mistake, saying that the "tea" was sake, a mistake made my his "stupid and ungrateful son" and he says that we could get any meal from the hotel for free because of the incident. I say that it is okay, but deep inside me I have the feeling that a monster was created.

Milly drunk? This is the worst thing that could happen after what... no! I need to forget every single detail about the bath now, or otherwise... God, I thank you for letting us get out of there alive, I really do.

"Hey Lucian! Come back here right now!" Milly says again, showing a amused face. I sigh and I prepare myself for the unlikely.

"What is it?"

"Let's play the game of the kings!"

"What?" Suzaku looks at her with a strange face.

"It's easy!" Kallen decides to start talking. "Everyone gets some sticks with numbers and the one who gets the one with the crow is the King and he can demands anything from the numbers and the numbers have to obey."

"Kallen, are you sure about this? I mean..." I am the only one that noticed the dark joke here?

"Yeah, I don't think that this game is that fun, you know?" Suzaku says and by his looks I can see that he noticed.

"C'mon guys, it's just a game. What could happens?" Rivalz, if you aren't going to help, then shut the hell up!

"It's decided! Everyone get a stick." I am fearing what might happen in the next seconds, but I get one and mine is number 4. "Ahhwn... I'm not the king."

"It's me!" Rivalz says. "I'm the king, so I order number 3 to dance around."

Nina says that she is the three, but I don't think that she will really... She is dancing! This is a moment that I must remember for eternity: Nina Einstein, the scared kitty, is dancing happily. Sometimes I get amazed of how alcohol changes people.

We start a new turn and I am praying for the best, but... Milly gets is the King now. Shit, this might end up very badly, so bad that it gave me chills.

"Okay, now I order number two to sit on my lap!" Rivalz looks at his stick with hope, but he isn't the two, but on the other hand...

"Shit!" I'm the number two! "It's... me."

Milly shows a smile and signals her lap, telling me to hurry up and do it. God, you are a cruel person for making me pass for such a thing. I look at her and I sigh, hoping to wake up from this nightmare, but of course, like everything in my life, it is real. It is not that I don't want it, but the things that I heard today... they might create a bad effect on my body and if she discovers...

I sit there, red like a tomato in the sun, and Milly laughs while she hugs me from behind. I can see Rivalz's depressed face and Suzaku's worried face, but the thing that I am most aware are the two big... mounts at my back. To make things worst, I can fell something a little blunt in them, so...

"Okay Milly, now I need to..."

"You will stay here for the time that I want!"

"What? President, this is not fair! I want him in my lap too!" Kallen says, red from the drink.

"We can share him. One turn each!"

"Now I am a toy?"

"Exactly!"

I sigh, thinking that this is going to be a really long night and I wonder if Rivalz is okay right now, but I think that he is either happy for me or sad that he isn't in my place. We all continue the game and I wonder how this night is going to end, which gave me goosebumps.

"Looks like that I'm the King." Suzaku says and I am relieved that this time there's someone with a brain and that isn't drunk. "I demand that number one jump three times."

"It's me." Kallen says, disappointed, but she get up and jump. After she sits again, she looks at me. "Now is my turn to have him in my lap."

I sigh while Milly pushes me to her and she is there waiting for me, but I can't do it, not in the same way that I did with Milly. Kallen and me are friends, but I can't stop thinking that there is a line that we can't cross, not so soon after Shirley's death. I know that Kallen has strong feelings for me, or the past me anyway, but I can't drag her more in my life, not after Shirley.

If someone discovers about Zero identity, then those people would aim for those that I love more than anything: Emily, Alice, Suzaku, Kallen... I am not worried about Suzaku, since he is with Britannia and I think that he can deal with anything that goes after him, but my sisters don't have such luck. I have been thinking for a while about asking Suzaku to take care of them if something happens.

One day I might have to go away and I won't be able to bring them with me, so I need to ask Suzaku about this and fast. I hope that he takes care of them like his own sisters, which I am certain that he will.

Kallen laughs cheerfully when I sit and she hugs me like Milly and, again, I can feel what I felt before (they are smaller, but still...) and I sense my own face going red, differently from when I sit in Milly's lap.

We take the sticks again and I get the King now, which gives me and idea.

"I am the King now, so you must obey any order that I give."

"Yes, your highness."

"I command you all: finish this stupid game at once!"

"What? You can't do it!" Milly says.

"I'm the King, so my orders are supreme! I am saying to end it, so this game will end!"

"Killjoy." Milly says while she goes to her futon. "I'm going to sleep."

After that, everyone decides to call in for the night and everyone enter their own futons. There is two lines of them: one is make by Suzaku, me and Kallen; the other one is Milly, Nina and Rivalz (poor guy). I look at the ceiling and I feel a nostalgic feeling inside of me as I remember those times when I was training with Myagi: they were hard, sure, but they weren't bad moments and I can remember a lot of happy days from those times.

**2014 A.T.B**

The old man is coughing without control while Lucian make his medicinal tea, the one recommended by the doctor to ease the cough and the pain. While Lucian finishes it, Myagi tries to stand, but the boy sends him a very ugly look, so he lies again.

"Okay, now drink it."

"I prefer sake."

"The doctor said no to it, so there's no alcohol for you."

The master looks morose to the tea, but he ends up drinking it, almost spilling it out. The thing has a strange smell coming out of it and it looks that the taste isn't better. Lucian had to broke all the bottles that he found in the house to avoid his master's addiction, but he managed to get more and only stopped when Lucian threatened him about telling the girls about the disease.

"God, this tastes like dirty socks."

"It's a way to make you more comfortable, so drink it up. You know that we can't get medicines, so that's the only way."

"Damn the moment I allowed you to get a doctor."

"Shut up, old man."

"Can't I at least..."

"No sake for you! That shit is making you worst."

"You look like my mother."

"Shut up, again."

"Can I at least stay outside a little, mommy?"

The boy sighs as he helps him to get up and he conducts the man to the outside, where the wind is flowing at a slow pace and there is only the silence. They both sit down and enjoy the peaceful moment together, but none of them say a word, at least for a time.

"This place sure is quiet, right?"

"Yes, sensei."

"It was a very good choice when we found it. It's distant from the urban part, but close enough to have little markets, schools..."

"Sadly, the best ones are for Britannians."

"Like you and your sisters. After I pass, you three should find a decent school to learn something useful."

"I am learning. What do you think that I did for the past years? Sit around doing nothing?"

"True, but what you now know isn't going to help you in getting money to sustain your sisters."

"You are right."

"I heard about a very good academy in Tokyo, one that is said to be very liberal, so it might accept you all."

"Maybe, but still..."

"You remember me of myself when I was younger: stubborn and always thinking that I could do everything alone."

"You used to be young? For me you already got out of your mother like that: old and wrinkly."

"Very funny." He says a little annoyed, but this change is brief. "You also resembles the "me" of today."

"How so?"

"We both have lost those precious to us due to war. I've lost my wife and son during the First Pacific War, when I was still arrogant and stupid."

"You've been carrying this for this whole time?"

"Yes, I've been..."

"I've always wanted to ask: why did you took me to train? There were a lot of other children with tragic pasts, but you took me instead of all the others."

"I don't know, it just came to me at the moment."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Humph... you are really getting senile." The master gives the pupil a hit with his cane. "Ouch!"

He looks at the boy and starts to laugh, being followed by Lucian after some seconds. Both men, young and old, stare at the blue sky with reverence and hoping to have more moments like this.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

It is probably morning, but I don't want to open my eyes yet, so I just enjoy the feeling of being half sleeping and half awake. After some time I realize something touching my arm, but I ignore it, since it must be probably a pillow. After more time, I fell the thing moving, but I... wait, moving?

I open my eyes and I find Kallen there, with her... chest touching my arm. I look at her and I freeze, without being able to move myself and it is all because of one tiny detail: her yukata has probably opened during the night and I can see a generous portion of her...

I need to control myself to avoid anything bad, but my brain is working at a turtle's pace right now. The only part of it that seems to be active is the one creating wrong thoughts, which I don't want to see. To make the whole situation worst, she moves and now she has a leg up my body and is holding my arm closer to her body, which makes me uncomfortably aware of her curves.

I don't know what to do! If I wake her up, she might think the whole situation the wrong way and this can get really ugly. If I try to get out of her grip, everything might end the same way as the last situation. A part of my mind remembers the advice that I received long ago: don't rely only in myself, but ask for help sometimes.

I use my other arm and I grab Suzaku, who is still asleep, trying to make him to help me. After some tense seconds he wakes, only to get confused by the scene. I tell him, only with the movements of my mouth, what happened and he agrees to help me. He then thinks a little and he gets a pillow from the cabinet and he slowly starts to replace me with it.

We are both sweating a lot, but after some minutes that seemed to take hours to pass, Kallen is holding a pillow and we cover her with her blanket. We get out of the room to breath fresh air again.

"I think... that I had enough of this trip."

"Well said, oni-san."

* * *

The girls didn't seems to remember that much of what happened last night, so I am thankful for this, so none of us will have to talk about what happened last night. It is already night, so we are all outside of the inn for a surprise for Milly, while I think that I had surprises from a whole life coming from her.

"Look at the sky." Milly says, pointing at the night sky.

We all look at where she points and we see it: a show of fireworks. They shine in the dark sky, filling it with bright and colorful lights, making all of us amazed with this show. I look at her and she sows me her tongue, smiles and do a "V" sign with her hand, this is just like her... Looking at the sky, I remember something like that, something that would be the last moment with my mentor.

**2014 A.T.B**

"I have a surprise for you all." Myagi says with a smile.

"What it is?" Emily asks, curious.

"Let's go outside and you will all see it."

"But its too cold!" Alice declares the obvious.

"Shut up and come."

The four go out and they stare at the dark night, waiting for whatever they are supposed to wait. Lucian looks at the old man, wondering what he intends, since the doctor said that he only has months of life. Lucian faces the man and he can clearly see the effects of the illness: he is skinnier than he used to be, it is getting more difficult for him to walk without help and he coughs with a great frequency, sometimes blood.

They all stop outside and it starts: the fireworks are now in the sky, making the girls happy like they have never be. Lucian looks at Myagi and he sees that he is smiling weakly, while he looks at the sky. Lucian can't know, but he is remembering the first time he went to see a show like this with his son, so many years ago.

Myagi looks at Lucian and the young one can see all the years of pain and suffer that he endured and, without saying a word to each other, they make a silent agreement: Lucian would never regret anything that he does, but he will continue to move forward, no matter the end.

* * *

The man is pale like a skull and it is coughing endlessly, no matter how much Lucian tries to ease his pain. It is almost the end of December and there is snow outside the house, a pure and white snow.

"I want... to get... outside... fell the... snow... one last... time..."

"Yes, sensei."

Lucian takes him to the outside and he places his master sited in the floor filled with the white blanket. The old man weakly grabs some and smash in his hands, feeling the cold like it was for the first time in his life.

"It's just... like that night... when I lost... everything..." He says, looking for his pupil's eyes. "But this... time the... snow isn't... red..."

"Don't force yourself." Lucian says as tears start to come down his eyes. "It's okay now, you don't need to suffer any longer."

"I'm... proud of you... my boy... only fifteen... and you are... already a man..."

"Sensei, I..."

"I go... to the other world... knowing that I... did a... good job..."

"Yes, you did."

"The girls... are going to be... sad for this... miserable old... man..."

"I'll take care of both."

"I know... Lucian..." He breathes heavily as he tries to speak. "I have... one last advice... for you..."

"Say it."

"Don't try... to be... what you don't are... you are... who you are... understand...?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then... I have just... one thing to... say... goodbye... Lu... cian..."

The young one holds the body as the snow continues to fall, fully aware about what happened and that his sisters are waiting for him inside home. He looks at his face and he sees a peace that he never saw before in his eyes and he understands that, for now on, he is alone and there isn't a person to guide him towards the future.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"So here you are."

Lucian looks back as he notices that I am here with him at the end of this road. Lucian is standing in front of a grave and I see a bouquet of flower in font of it.

"Hey Suzaku, how are you?"

"Milly told me to go find you, since it's almost time to go back at Ashford."

"I see... I was just saying goodbye."

"To who?"

"To the man that took care of me during those years since the war." He says with a sad smile. "That was my house."

"Really?" I say while I look at the house that he pointed: a normal house in Japanese style. "So here is where you used to live, hum?"

"Yes, the four of us: me, Alice, Emily and him." He looks back at the grave.

"I see... so when he died?"

"At the end of 2014... two weeks after my birthday."

"Sorry about that."

"No... I'm happy that he found peace, at least."

"How was he?"

"A stubborn, drunk, bad-tempered, strict teacher and, on top of all that, a friend when I needed one."

"Let's go back to the others, oni-san."

"Yes, let's go... oni-san."

We start to go back as I look at him, wondering about his former life as we go back to the others. Lucian never liked to talk about his past, but I know that he must had endured a lot of pain from before he arrives at our house. At the beginning I didn't liked the idea of him being my brother, but the time passed and we became like meat and bones.

We arrive at the bus that is going to take us back to the school and we start to go back. Milly starts to ask us questions about the first night, but we all pretend that we don't remember as well.

"Hey Lucian, now that I think about this, you came from around here, right?"

"Yes, I lived here before entering Ashford."

"Really?" Nina says. "With all those Elevens around you?"

"Yes Nina, all the _Japanese_ around me."

"I remember like it was yesterday: the first time that I saw you."

"Yes... that's true..."

**2015 A.T.B**

"So your name is Lucian...?"

"Lamperouge, sir."

"Right, sorry about that."

"Don't worry, Mister Ashford."

"It's just that you are so similar to Prince Lelouch that I forget that you aren't him."

"A strange coincidence, right?"

"Yes, indeed." He looks at the papers at his desk. "You scored the highest score in the admission test, which means that you will be able to join the student body."

"Yes sir."

"Your sisters scored well too, so they can enroll this Academy as well."

"I already know about this, sir."

"So, you don't have parents, that's correct?"

"Yes. They all died when we were little, so I've been taking care of them since."

"According to this report, the youngest one can't walk, is this right?"

"Yes sir, a deficiency from before we met."

"Hum... I'll allow you all to stay in the clubhouse with them, in order to facilitate her life."

"I'm grateful, sir."

"Okay then." He stamps some papers. "Now you are officially a student of this Academy, Mister Lamperouge."

"Thank you very much, sir." He says while they both get up and shake their hands.

"My granddaughter will show you your rooms."

"I'm honored that the heir of the Ashford Family is going to show me the place."

"Actually, my grandniece, Muriel Ashford, is going to inherit the Family, since I'm the youngest brother."

"Sorry about touching in such matter."

"No worries, I am able to do what I have always loved: teach young minds and guide them to the future."

Lucian says a farewell and leaves the room, only to find a blonde girl around his age waiting outside. She is tall and has blue eyes and she is wearing a smile.

"So, you are the new student that is going to live in the clubhouse?"

"Yes, my name is Lucian Lamperouge, nice to meet you."

"Don't be so formal to me, please. It's strange that a person so close to my age treats me like that. Before I forget, my name is Millyane Ashford."

"Hello, Lady..."

"No!"

"Hum... Millyane?"

"Try to make it shorter."

"Milly?"

"That's right, I love it! For now on, everyone will call me like that. Now let's show you the place." She says while she grabs his arm and start to drag him around with her

She shows him the clubhouse, but also the whole school, giving details about the many buildings inside the campus. She makes Lucian pays for her lunch and they both eat at the rooftop of the main building.

"You have two sisters, right?"

"Yes, Emily and Alice."

"How lucky they are: they have such a handsome brother while I have that... cousin."

"You don't like her?"

"That one? No, she is always bragging to me that her father is the main developer of Empress Marianne's personal's Knightmares while I am the granddaughter of a principal in the colonies."

"I see... it must be tough."

"On the other hand, I still don't have any friend around here, so you are the first friend that I made."

"I'm feeling special now."

"You should." She says, getting up. "Now, let's go to your room and maybe I'll help you to set things around."

"Thanks a lot, Milly." He says, giving her a smile.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"I'm home."

"Oni-chan! How was the trip?" Emily asks me.

"More... exciting than I was prepared."

"Really? That's good."

"Did you paid him a visit?"

"Of course Alice and I left Sakura flowers to him there.

"That's good."

We continued to talk about our time separated and I can fell that, even after so many years, they still care about his memory, which I think that makes him happy about it. After the dinner and we all go to bed, I look at the moon and I think that, wherever he is right now, he has his family with him.

"Rest in peace, Myagi-sensei."


	16. Stage 16: Revelations

**Stage 16:**

**Revelations**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

I have been wondering if Suzaku can be the one that I should choose to be the protector of my sisters in the case that I can't be around them. I look at him, wondering what he could say when I ask him about it, the only person that I trust beyond any doubt in the world and the person that I swore to never use Geass on.

"C'mon Lucian! Stop moving around."

"Oh, sorry guys."

I am serving as the model in the class of drawing and now I am sitting in the middle, making a pose like I am thinking. This is annoying, but I was elected by the class to be here (thanks to the girls I bet) and now I have to stand Still for the whole class while they draw me.

"No, you were different. Try to put your head a little higher." Rivalz says.

"This way?"

"Too much."

"What now?"

"Man, let me fix it." Rivalz get up and start to move my body and face. "Perfect."

"It's completely different from before Rivalz!" The class says and I must agree that I wasn't smiling before.

"C'mon, it's much better now."

"I like the thoughtful face more."

Dawn you Clovis! Even from the underworld you make my life harder! It is the art week, an event created by him to make people enjoy more art and things like that, but the only problem is that I always end up as the model, not the artist. Sometimes I wish that I could be ugly to avoid such things.

**Put a line here**

I am reviewing the reports that the new recruit, Diethard, has sent and I must say that they look pretty good. They cover a lot of sensitive issues like troops movement, secrets from nobles, events that Marianne might take place and an infinite more. It seems that someone is been using the Spider's web since I killed him, which makes me satisfied.

"Zero, can I come in?" Ohgi knocks the door.

"Come in Ohgi." He enters the office with a worried face. "What's wrong?"

"We have visitors."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... they have recommendations from Kyoto and... General Katase."

"Really? Then we must not let them wait much longer." I get up and we start to go outside the base. "Just curious, who are they?"

"The Four Holy Sword."

"Really? The four soldiers led by Lie. Colonel Tohdoh itself?"

"Yes, but Tohdoh isn't among them."

"This is a problem. Do you know why?"

"No, I do not."

We get outside and I see Katase in front of four people: three men and a woman. According to what Katase told me, the oldest is Ryoga Senba, the one with glasses is Shogo Asahina, the last man is Kosetsu Urabe and the woman is Nagisa Chiba. Those four warriors have been at the side of Tohdoh during these seven years of domination, but I can't see any sign of the leader.

"Zero, it's good to see you here." Katase says, lowering his head to me, as a sign of respect.

"Same here, General. Now, where is the great Tohdoh that I heard so much?"

Since the day I saved Katase and his men, the General swore loyalty to me and he has honored this vow since then. I can say that he is the most loyal among my troops, besides Kallen.

"That's what we are going to say now." Asahina says.

"The Colonel was captured by the enemy, trying to avoid our own capture." Senba follows.

"We want the Black Knights help in rescuing him." Chiba ends.

"I see..." I was already going to find Tohdoh to make him join the Black Knights, but now my work is just easier.

"Zero, we need to rescue him, Tohdoh would be a valuable asset to our cause." Katase states.

"I'm fully aware of this, General, and I agree with it. We, the Order of the Black Knights, are going to help in the rescue of the Lieutenant Colonel."

I tell Diethard to handle the details of the operation while I check out my new toy: a new Gekka, brought by Kyoto to me. It is the same as the last one, but this time the creator of it is going to be around here to take care of the maintenance of the Knightmares. She will only arrive later, but I would like to see the unit now, since I couldn't do it that much with the last one before it got destroyed, but this time I see the whole thing: it has a blue painting, while the Radiation Wave Arm has the hand in a red color.

I continue to think about Suzaku and I get more certain about my choice, that he should be my sisters guardian when I am gone, fighting Britannia. I smile, thinking about the second that I tell him.

_**Kallen**_

The guys are taking care of my Guren while I wait for Zero and the creator of it, Rakshata Chawla, to arrive here. I lay back to a wall and I can hear the Four Holy Swords talking with Katase above me.

"It's so good to know that everyone survived to the blast General."

"I agree with Urabe. We thought that you died at the port, in the blast."

"Sorry to worry you all, but why didn't you all contacted Kyoto to learn of my whereabouts?"

"We were on the run, trying to avoid Britannia, so that's why we couldn't. If we had managed to do it, Tohdoh won't be..."

"Don't worry about it. Zero will save him."

"General, why do you serve Zero?"

"If it wasn't for him, I would be dead right now."

"We know, but..."

"I won't force you to join us, but I must ask you all to do it anyway. Zero is our best hope of achieving Japan's freedom."

"And after that? Do you think that Zero will stop?"

"If he wants to fight Britannia itself, I'll follow him, no matter what."

"Why?"

"I have a great dept of gratitude with him, besides, I can say that I share his thoughts: if we create a world of true justice, then we won't have to fear attacks from anyone else, don't you think?" The general seems to leave, making the other members to leave as well.

I look at the floor, thinking about what the general said: he would follow Zero until the end. After some time I realize that I would do the same as him, no matter what happens. I wonder if this is because Zero or Lucian, since I can't imagine him as Zero anymore, but only as Lucian. That morning, in the field trip, I woke with his smell on me, but I can't remember what happened in that night...

"Go faster guys, we need to get the Guren ready before the operation."

"Take your time and treat my baby with care!" Everyone looks at who spoke and we see an Indian woman wearing white lab apron. "It's far more fragile than you when I gave birth to it."

"And who are you?" Tamaki says, in an impolite way.

"Its mother."

"So you arrived on time." Zero appears from where the Holy Swords were. "Had any problem during the travel to Japan?"

"Not at all, Zero. It's a pleasure to meet you face to face, or mask to face, whatever."

"The pleasure's mine, Rakshata. I've read a lot about you in my reports."

"I've heard that you are the pilot of the my first Gekka, right?"

"Yes I am."

"So you are one of my best friends from now on. It's so rare to find a fitted pilot for my children."

"So, did you brought those new frames that Kyoto warned me about?"

"Of course, here are the keys." She shows five keys from Knightmares. "I've also came with these: new Knightmare uniforms for you and the pilots of my little babies."

"I see..." Zero grabs a black and purple uniform from the case and I see that a red one is inside, probably for me. "They are... very tight."

"It's to give the pilot the maximum of movement and improve its survival in the field. There's also one from the pilot of the Guren, do you know where is she?"

"I'm here."

"Oh my, you sure is a beauty for the eyes, right Zero?"

"That's not..." I start to say, embarrassed.

"Don't worry darling, I don't care about your appearance, but only to your ability to give me data in order to improve my children." She puts her tobacco pipe in her mouth. "So, where should be my workplace?"

"This way, I'll guide you there and show you the place." Zero says, offering his arm to her.

"What a gentleman you are." She says, accepting the offer.

I look at her with a little of envy when I see Zero holding her arm and conducting her around. My feelings for Lucian are increasing at a fast pace and I am starting to don't care about it. I wonder if I ask... no, it is so early after Shirley's death. I know that he is still injured from that blow, so I will wait more before I even touch this kind of subject with him.

_**Suzaku**_

"You need my signature again?" Lloyd says, astonished.

"Even if it was Prince Lelouch the one who changed this, there are formalities to be followed. A change in the executioner is the most special of the cases."

This can't be true! The Prince Lelouch has changed the one who is going to execute Colonel Tohdoh to me. That man is evil to the core and only him would think about something like this!

"Does viceroy Marianne knows about this sudden change?" Lloyd asks, giving a smile to the responsible.

"I..."

"Well, that's nothing we can do about it now." He sighs as he starts to sign another paper.

Tohdoh was my martial arts master and I respect him greatly, but what can I do? I can't refuse to kill him, but I don't want to do it either! What should I do? I fell Cecile's hand up mine, in a attempt to calm me. I look at her with my body trembling and she understands what I am feeling.

"W-what is that?" The responsible for the prison asks as the whole room trembles.

"Good, now I can get rid of this paperwork." Lloyd says as a column of smoke and fire rises in the prison's wall.

_**Kallen**_

Me and the Four Holy Swords go through the hole that we made in the wall of the prison's courtyard and we start to fight against the soldiers inside. Zero went to get Tohdoh out while we play as decoys for him.

The Holy Swords are using the new Gekkas against the enemy and I have to say that they are kicking their asses out there. They all move like they are dancing: perfect synchrony while they slay Sutherlands. It helps to have such a good Knightmare like the Gekka, but thus one isn't as powerful as Zero's, since it lacks the Radiation Arm and is not as fast and potent, but the ability of the pilots compensates it.

I use my right arm to destroy two Sutherlands at the same time and I cut a third one with my knife. One of them appears behind me, but Chiba destroys it for me.

"Thanks."

"You are welcome."

I hope that Zero gets Tohdoh fast, because if this continues on, more enemies might appear and we lose the advantage. Come on Lucian!, do your job fast!

_**Tohdoh**_

"The High Command has ordered me to execute you before they could get you out of here. Any last words?"

I look at the soldier that is pointing his gun to me and I sigh. This is the end for me and I can't change it, so all I can do is accept my fate.

"Just do it quickly. I have anything else to do in this life."

"And that's where you are wrong!" Someone else says, but there's no one around besides us.

Suddenly, the wall behind the soldier gets red and it is destroyed, with the pieces of it falling into the soldier, killing him. From the wall I see a blue Knightmare with a strange left arm, which seems to be the one who wrecked the wall. From inside the cockpit, a very famous person emerges.

"Zero!"

"Kyoshiro Tohdoh, the man who was able to defeat in battle even Bismarck Waldstein, without any Knightmare at your side. That day, you created a miracle for the Japanese."

"Itsukushima? Do you want me to create one for you as well?"

"I would appreciate, if such a thing existed. You used tactics and your great intelligence and that's what I want from you."

"Sorry, but I pledged my loyalty to and he's dead now."

"And, again, you are wrong: the General is well and alive under my command."

"How can this be? That explosion..."

"The Black Knights evacuated the former JLF members of the tanker and now they are part of my Order."

"How can I trust you?"

"What other course of action do you see available for you, besides dying without fighting back? The reason why the resistance against Britannia is stronger in Japan than in the other Areas is because the people still have a symbol to represent them: you, the one who received the name "Tohdoh of the Miracles". If you just die, what would you do with all the hope put upon you?"

"So you are saying that I must fight because of those people?"

"At least honor their hopes. I will do it as well, honoring their hope into the completely destruction of the disease know as Britannia." I smile at him after those words.

_**Kallen**_

We continue with our attacks when the wall is destroyed again and the truck carrying Colonel Tohdoh's Gekka arrives, but the only question is where is the Colonel? Asahina and Urabe get to the sides of the truck, acting as scouts to it, while Chiba and Senba go to meet a blue Gekka that is approaching from the cell block.

The truck stops and its container opens, revealing a Gekka, but black with two red stripes similar to hair at its head. The blue one gets next and from inside it, Tohdoh gets out (I don't have any idea how Zero and him were together inside the tiny space of the cockpit, but this doesn't matter). The Four Holy Swords gets around him and they open their cockpits to receive their leader.

"Colonel, it's so good to see you!" Chiba says.

"Nice to see you, sir." Asahina continues.

"Thanks you guys for all you hard work." Tohdoh welcomes his comrades.

"This was nothing!" Senba replies to him.

"I don't want to interrupt this happy moment, but we have the enemy to deal with and it's really uncomfortable inside this cockpit with you standing, Colonel." Zero says from inside his Gekka, making me smile at him.

"Cooperate with Zero! Eliminate any enemy inside the perimeter."

"Roger!" The four soldiers reply.

I see a Slash Harken coming in Zero's direction, so I jump and I stop it, seeing the White Helmet as the owner of it. I smile, happy to see that we can finish him for once and for all. With Tohdoh and his comrades, as well as Zero and me, we can easily defeat him.

He attacks with that blue gun of him, but everyone is out of its way when it hits the floor. Asahina attacks him with his sword, but he defends the attack with his shield. Chiba and Senba try to attack at both his sides, but he dodges both of them, as well as the back attack that I landed at him with my Slash Harken.

Zero approaches him and tries to use the Radiation Wave, but, again, he gets out of the way. The good thing about this all is that he doesn't have much room to fight back, but only to avoid being hit by our attacks.

"Zero, do you have any useful data of this unit?"

"Yes, but I need you all to do exactly as I say."

"Very well. You all, do whatever Zero says, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"All units, give him distance!" We all get away from it, giving him enough space to use that blue weapon, but we manage to avoid it. "His movements follow a predictable pattern: his first movement is a straight attack, which he never feints." Just like he says, he goes against me straight on, but I jump to get out of his way. "After that, he'll do a maneuver to recover his balance, so you all look at the data that I'm sending you."

I look at my screen and I see some files of tactics that we can use in many different situations. It is really impressive that Lucian was able to do such a thing with just two encounters with him, but that is our leader for you. He says the code "S-5-7" and Asahina moves himself in the way that the screen is showing and he manages to get his blue weapon out of his hands.

"Now he is going to fall back to the rear! Coordinates: X-2-3!"

Just like he said, the enemy jumps back, but Tohdoh is waiting for him where he is going to land. Even with this surprise attack, he dodges being hit by the sword, but his cockpit is cut, revealing who is the pilot of that unit: Suzaku!

It can't be! Suzaku can't... last time I checked, he was with an engineering corps, so why he is piloting this frame? It doesn't make any sense at all! I then think about what Lucian is thinking about seeing his own brother as his nemesis.

"Zero, what should we do now? Zero?"

_**Suzaku**_

I took a hit that almost took my life, but I was able to divert from it and the Lancelot can move as well. Thanks to the fact that Lloyd spend all our budget into the Lancelot, the only vehicle that we have is the one that transports my frame, so that's why I was able to get it so fast.

I go against that black Knightmare that cut my cockpit and I attack it with my sword, but he defends itself. Its own cockpit opens and I see my old master, Tohdoh.

"Do not do it, Suzaku!"

"Tohdoh?" I look at him with surprise, but I get angry with him. "Do you want to live so badly that you would betray your own principles?"

"Disappointed? Then keep your schedule and execute me right here!" I look at him, again with a surprised face as we continue our struggle. "What's wrong? That's why you are here, right? You are just a scared boy who don't want to go against the system."

"Denying everything is pointless! I will prove by getting into it and changing it from the inside!"

"Are you serious?"

"Deadly!"

"So you must continue with your beliefs." He finally gets away from me. "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, what matters is that your convictions doesn't get any weaker than they are now!"

"Right!" Thank you, Sensei.

_**Kallen**_

"Zero, do we capture the enemy? What should we do, Zero?" Come on Lucian! Answer me!

"We are going to strike the enemy now." Senba says."

"NO! Wait for Zero's orders!" Why don't you say anything? Please Lucian, stop them!

"We are not waiting!" Chiba says. "Senba, take the Spinning-Life or Death Formation!"

"Wait! Don't do it!" Lucian finally says.

"Don't worry, there's no way he can dodge it." Asahina says, but that isn't what Lucian is worried about.

_**Suzaku**_

"Kururugi, release the boaster of the Slash Harkens! The code is my favorite food!" I hear Lloyd speaking from the microphones.

I put the word "pudding" in the console and the four Slash Harkens go on at once, hitting the swords from the enemies' hands. I throw my sword at one of them, hitting it with success.

_**Kallen**_

"Asahina, go through the right and get him."

"STOP IT! We've done enough fighting for today and we achieved our objectives, so let's retreat using escape route three ."

"A unwinnable battle is very different from a lost battle. You seems to understand this well Zero." Tohdoh says and I can see enemies coming from the air, a perfect excuse to get away from here.

Zero, Tohdoh and the Holy swords release the chaff smoke in order to make our escape. It is a special smoke that disrupts the IFF of those who are inside, making it impossible to go after anyone. Suzaku tries to go after us, but his landspinner is destroyed by shots.

I get away with a big weight inside my chest: Suzaku, a great friend of mine is one of our biggest enemies. I can't even imagine what Lucian is passing right now.

_**Euphemia**_

"Good work, Suzaku." I whisper at the sigh of him safe.

I am in the Bureau building of the settlement with Nunnaly, Lelouch and Darlton, watching the battle in the prison. Looks like someone hacked into the systems and put it on all the channels in the settlement. Every person saw Suzaku fighting against seven enemies and he is still alive, which makes me relieved.

"Traitor!" Lelouch says. "Why he doesn't go after them? Oh yeah, that's right: it's because he is an Eleven, just like them."

I look at the floor, trembling with hate from him. I don't know what is happening with him, but since we got here in Area 11, he has changed to the point that you can't even recognize him. He was already arrogant and stupid, always treating those who were lower to him in status like garbage, but he is getting worst and worst each day that pass. Even Nunnaly avoids being around him so much, spending her time with me.

"What's wrong, Euphemia? Feeling pity for the dogs?" He looks at me with a disgusting face.

I can't stand it anymore, so I get up and I slap his face with all my might. His face gets red, from the blow and from his angry. He gets up and holds my arm, hurting it, but Darlton grabs his arm and separates us. Since the day he attacked Lucian and me, there is always someone around to prevent him from hurting me or Nunnaly, but I see her with a purple part in her little body, yet she refuses to admit that it was him.

"You dare to touch me? A royal prince?"

"Orders from Lady Marianne, your Highness." Darlton says with cold eyes.

He gets out of his reach and looks at me with shucks, leaving the room right after this. Nunnaly is sad about this whole situation, since she miss her older brother, the one who used to treat her so well and she used to fight against me to decide who would be his wife, all on the past.

Lady Marianne had to go to the north in order to take care of some rebellions that are happening there, but since Lelouch lost his command, he had to stay here. In order to avoid nasty situations, she left Darlton to protect me and Nunnaly from him, in case he gets out of control.

Marianne suggested that I should get for me a personal knight to be at my side all the time, but I hadn't decided who it should be. Looking at the screen where Suzaku is standing alone, I had an idea and I tell it to Darlton.

"Hum... you sister and your brother might not like this so much, your Highness."

"And Lady Marianne?"

"I bet that she would give her blessing to that idea."

I nod at him, hoping that he is right, because, if Lady Marianne suports my idea, I can deliver a vengeance against Lelouch and help Suzaku, at the same time.

_**Suzaku**_

"Tohdoh... I... I am your foe!" I say, deciding which side I will take in this battle.

I look at the sky and I remember all those moments that I spent with him: the lessons of martial arts and philosophy, dinners and happy times and a full set of memories. Now, in order to achieve my dream, I must face and defeat him. I look at father's watch, wondering what Lucian might think when he discovers that I was in dangerous all this time.

_**Lucian**_

I am laughing without control, but this is an insane laugh, from the type that only a crazy man would do. I end it, thinking about the irony of the fate: my own brother is one of my enemies and I must destroy him in order to achieve my resolutions. I lie on the couch of my room and I continue to laugh, unable to stop.

_**Lelouch**_

"That worthless bitch! Who does she thinks that she is to slap me like that?" I enter my room filled with hate against that girl, Euphemia.

If it wasn't from Darlton, I would beat her until she learns who she really is: a stupid and spoiled little girl, one that is unable to accept the fact that we, as Britannians, are superior to those Numbers! She might think that we all deserve the same rights, but she is just fooling herself!

"It wasn't a good day, my prince?" I look at who dares to enter my room, but I see her.

"The worst of them all." I say while I get her and I throw her in the bed.

"Oh my, the little prince is on fire now, isn't you?" She smile with sarcasm.

"You don't even know how much." I say while I open her legs and I put off my pants.

We do it right there, dressed, and she starts to moan loudly, but no one would even conceive the thought of interrupt me right now. It ends with her moaning out loud and I get at her side, with her blonde hair in my hand.

"Your sister, again?"

"Yes, that slut! She dares to hit my face, but I can't do anything against her, or mother will punish me."

"It's sad, right? To be a prince and not be able to do whatever you want?"

"I didn't know how to enjoy the pleasures of life before I met you, some time before I came to this piece of rock that is called Area 11."

"I'm honored your Highness." She says while she gets my intimate part and starts to play with it. "But I heard that you were doing with cheap whores while I was far away."

"None of them can even match you, I assure you. Besides that, they are only Elevens."

"Leaving this to the side, what are you going to do with your sister?"

"I don't know, but I will think of something. That whore you repay every single second that she treated me like shit!"

"Of course she is, my Lord."

"She won't even know what got her. I hope that, when I achieve this, you will be at my side, A.A."


	17. Stage 17: Vows of Knighthood

**Stage 17:**

**Vows of Knighthood**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Kallen**_

I can't believe that we now have a submarine! It is all thanks to Rakshata, who asked it from the Militarized Zone of India (I don't know how she got it). Right now we are all inside it and Zero is giving everyone their new positions inside the Organization. We have gained a lot more people, so it is waited from him to do it.

I look at him, surprised that he is acting normally after he discovered that Suzaku was the pilot of the White Helmet and even more after we all discover about Suzaku's new position... He makes a sound and every person gets quiet inside the room.

"Now I am going to announce the new organization of the Black Knights." Zero says and everyone starts to pay attention to him.

"Our new Chief of Military Affairs will be Tatewaki Katase." Everyone praise this choice, but it was expected to be him. At Zero's side, he gets his hand up, thanking the praises.

"Battlefield Commander: Kyoshiro Tohdoh."

"Chief of General Intelligence: Diethard Ried" This time a lot of dissatisfied sounds come from everyone.

"Zero, I am not racist, but why do you put a Britannian in such a position?" Chiba asks.

"Why, you ask? What about me? I don't hide the fact that I am a Britannian myself, but I don't see any of you complaining about it." Everyone stay quiet. "What matters inside of our Order is the ability to bring results, which he had proved himself, as well as his loyalty."

"I appreciate your trust, Zero." Diethard says.

"As I was saying, my Deputy Commander will be Kaname Ohgi."

"Me?" He says with a surprised face."

"Of course you, you used to be the leader, right? You deserve this position."

"Th-thanks!"

"Chief of Research and Development: Rakshata Chawla."

"Who else?" She replies.

"Captain of the Zero Guard: Kouzuki Kallen."

"Zero Guard?" I ask, confused.

"In the field, Zero might need additional protection, so a elite guard must be created in order to protect him. You can think of it as his own Royal Guard." General Katase says.

"Zero's royal guard..." I am stunned by this: a chance to protect him, just like a knight would do.

"You will all be under my direct command and will be at my side in battle." He says, looking right at me, making me blush.

I am so proud of myself for this position, because it means that I will have to stay closer to him in order to protect him. I want to do it more than anything in this world and I will honor his trust.

"Captain of the 1st Squad: Shogo Asahina."

"Captain of the 2nd Squad: Ryouga Senba."

"Captain of the 3rd Squad: Kizuna Kagesaki.

"Captain of the 4th Squad: Kosetsu Urabe."

"Captain of the 5th Squad: Nagisa Chiba."

"Captain of the 6th Squad: Junpei Iori."

"Captain of the 7th Squad: Akihiko Sanada."

"Captain of the 8th Squad: Mitsuro Kirijo."

"Captain of the 1st Special Force: Yoshida Toru.

"Captain of the 2nd Special Force: Shinichiro Tamaki."

"Captain of the 3rd Special Force: Kento Sugyama."

It continues to go on as he gives positions to every person inside the Black Knights. He tries to be fair with those who he accomplishes, but I don't really care about the rest, only with the fact that I am his personal knight, the one who must be at his side, protecting him at all costs.

"Supplies Responsible: Yoshitaka Minami."

"Treasurer: Naomi Inoue. And that's all."

Strange... there is no position for that woman, C.C, who is standing in the back of the room, with a bored face. Everyone says that she is Zero's mistress, but I know that this isn't true, yet I don't know who she really is to Lucian.

"Zero, may I add something?" Diethard goes ahead, asking for permission to talk.

"Go ahead."

"There's something that we need to deal with and you know what I'm talking about."

_**Suzaku**_

"How could Princess Euphemia do such a thing?"

"Promoting an Eleven to the title of honorary Knight! That's insanity!"

"Well, even a princess has needs, right?"

I am walking in a red carpet in direction of Princess Euphemia, wearing a new set of clothes: the clothes of a Knight. I was shocked when I received the news about my promotion: now I am a Major and her Highness personal Knight, the one who should put his life in the line in name of justice.

She has a very serious face, the one of a person that isn't playing around, even with all the commentaries of the nobles that are watching this. I am nervous, since this is being broadcast to the entire colony, so everyone in Ashford is probably watching me.

I hadn't time to talk with Lucian about this yet, but I think that he might get worried about me, after all, a knight has to put the life of those who he protects above all. I hope that, when I finally talk with him, he doesn't punches me.

"Suzaku Kururugi." She starts to say. "For this day on, do you swear to fight for Britannia with all your might?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Will you abandon all selfishness and become a sword against those who abuse their power and a shield for those without any?"

"Yes, your Highness."

I draw my sword and I give it to her, pointing the blade to my hearth, signing that, from this day on, my life belongs to her. She gets it and touches both my shoulders with it, while I stay on my knees to her.

"I, Euphemia li Britannia, do hereby thee dub Sir Suzaku Kururugi, Knight of Honor of the Holy Britannian Empire. May your blade slay injustice and corruption. May your will never fall from this very same corruption."

She gives back my sword and I grab it with both my hands, putting it back into its sheath. She makes a sign and I get up, looking at the nobles that are watching my ascension, but I hear no clasp for me, with many of them even looking away.

I hear a single pair of hands applauding and I see Lloyd there, looking at me with his normal smile. A second pair joins the first and I see General Darlton applauding as well. After this, every person inside the room follow them and the room is filled with the sound of it.

I look at Lloyd and I smile back at him, happy about his reaction. Sometimes he seems to don't care about me, but I think that he might like me, just a little. Now it is done and I am officially Euphemia's Knight.

_**Lucian**_

The main leaders of the Black Knights are inside our mobile base to discuss Suzaku's situation. Here, besides me, are Katase, Tohdoh, Ohgi, Rakshata and Diethard.

"We can't allow Kururugi to become a symbol for the Elev... sorry, Japanese. My recomendation is to assassinate him."

"Kururugi?" I look at him, not surprised that he made that suggestion.

"He may be right." Rakshata agrees. "You've been the symbol for the resistance, but Kururugi is the proof that Japanese can rise to high positions, which may make people rethink about helping the Black Knights."

"People aren't moved by ideology alone and Britannia will surely hold this boy as a symbol. Killing him would be the safest route to assure that this won't happen."

"I object." Tohdoh says. "The people won't support such a cowardly method."

"He's right! The Black Knights won't attack those who have no weapon to defend themselves." Ohgi agrees with Tohdoh.

"What do you think, Katase?" I ask him.

"I agree with Tohdoh and Ohgi: we can't use those methods to achieve our goals, otherwise this whole Order would lose its purpose.

"I'm merely suggesting the safest and quickest way to deal with it. The final decision still belongs to Zero, he's the leader after all."

* * *

I am looking at a chess piece: the white knight, thinking about what to do with Suzaku, but nothing comes at me. I sigh and put the piece in the board, thinking about what to do with this whole situation.

"Why don't you just use Geass on Suzaku? Won't be the fastest way to make him part of us?" C.C asks, but I look ugly at her. "What stops you: Stubbornness? The fact that he is your brother? Pride?"

"All of it."

"You might have to kill him in battle, do you know of it?"

"I am fully aware of this, thank you."

She keeps quiet after this, but the feeling that I might have to kill Suzaku doesn't leave me and I get more and more frustrated.

_**Euphemia**_

"What in hell where you thinking when you choose Kururugi as your Knight?" Cornelia yells at me.

"What is exactly the problem, sister?"

"Sub-viceroy Cornelia to you, Princess Euphemia." She say, hurting my feelings.

"Come on Cornelia, there's no problem in making Suzaku a knight." Lady Marianne says to her, but she doesn't gives up.

"But she is just an Eleven! He can't possibly be loyal to the crow!"

"What his status have to do with it? I was a commoner before I became a Knight of Honor, a Knight of Round and now I am one of the Empresses of the biggest countries in the world. The place where you are bourn has nothing to do with what you are."

Cornelia doesn't say anything, but she gets out of the room with an angry face. I look at the floor, sad about her reaction and hoping that she understands me, one day.

"Don't make such a sad face, Euphie. You did no wrong in choosing Suzaku."

"But..."

"He is a noble man and the fittest to be your personal knight, I think."

"Really?"

"Yes, besides, Nunnaly loves him and she approved the idea of getting him around more often." I laugh, remembering how excited she was when I told her.

"The only problem is..."

"Forget about Lelouch, he doesn't have anything to do with your choice: it was yours alone and no one else can say a thing about it."

"Thanks, Lady Marianne."

She smiles and apologizes as she says that she has to take care of some business, leaving me alone. I am worried about Lelouch, since he hadn't left his room since I told all of them of my decision, so I don't know what to expect of him.

_**Lucian**_

A celebration is taking place in the clubhouse's hall for the promotion of Suzaku to the knighthood. I am standing in the door, wondering of how should i react when I enter it, if I even enter it. I don't know what I might do when I get inside, but I can't stand here during the whole day.

I decide to enter it and try to act like I normally act, but I continue to have this bad taste in my mouth as I go in. I can see that Kallen has entered the room as well, but I have a bad feeling when I see her face. I get near her and I see what she is holding: her pink wallet.

"Hey Kallen, I think that Milly might need your help." I say while I hold her stronger.

"Lucian, I..." She looks back at me, understanding what I want from her.

"Hey guys, you two came." Suzaku approaches us.

"Sorry, I've got held up with something."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad that you came." He says, smiling, but it is replaced by something else. "So... what do you think about it?"

"What, my brother becoming a Knight? I've never been so proud of you like I was when I discovered this."

He looks relieved about my answer, like he was worried about what I was thinking and Kallen tries to leave the perimeter, but I tell her that I might need to talk with her later. What she was trying to do is unthinkable and I need to have a word or two with her.

"Bad news, Sir Kururugi. Looks like you just have more work to do." A man that looks like a scientist appears, together with Nina, surprising me.

"You know him?" I ask Suzaku.

"He's my boss."

"Lloyd, is something wrong?" Milly approaches the man.

"Do you two know each other?" Nina asks.

"We are going to marry." The man called Lloyd answers her.

Every person in this room produces a surprised sound as they hear that Milly Ashford is going to get married, but me and Suzaku aren't surprised. Milly asked me about what she might do in their first encounter and I already knew that she was going to marry some Earl. A curious thing about her is that she always tells her secrets to me, making me sad that I don't do the same with her.

"Yeah..." She looks at me with a sad face. "That's right."

"He said it." Suzaku comments.

"You knew?"

"I saw her one day at the laboratory." Rivalz goes running towards Lloyd.

"Wait just a second here! Who is this guy anyway?"

"Earl Lloyd Asplund."

"Earl?! I'm sorry, my lord." He says to the Earl, but turns back to Milly. "What kind of relation you have with him?"

"She is going to be my wife." Lloyd says to Rivalz with a strange smile.

"NNNNOOO!" Rivalz scream as Suzaku steps in their direction.

"Do I have military duties?"

"Yes, an important person is going to arrive by boat and we need to go and meet him."

I look at both with a little bit of anger as they leave. I can't accept that Suzaku works for Britannia, so I must change that. First, I need to take care of something.

* * *

"What in hell where you thinking?!"

"Lucian, I..."

"You were going to murder him in front of everyone else? Is that what you were aiming for?"

"It was for your sake!"

"My sake? Let's make it clear: you only acts when I tell you to act, understood?"

"Yes, sir." She says, looking at her feet.

"This is serious Kallen, I can't have someone that went rogue and don't do exactly what I say as the Captain of my guard. If something like this happens again, I might have to give the position to someone else."

"Please don't!"

"So don't do anything like that again, okay?"

"Yes, Zero."

"Who ordered it?"

"What?"

"Who ordered you to kill Suzaku?"

"I..."

"I know that you hadn't done on your own, this isn't like you, so just tell me already."

"Diethard." I sigh, thinking that I need a collar for that man.

"Fine." I sigh again. "I'll talk to him later, but you remember that you only accept orders from me and anyone else, right?"

"Right!" She says with a smile.

I signal that she can go now and I am alone in the rooftop of the building now. Here you can clearly see the discrepancy between the ghettos and the settlement, just like the two sides of a coin: so different, but together in the same environment.

"Lucian, can I talk to you?" Milly appears behind me.

"Of course, Milly."

"What did you thought?"

"About you future husband?"

"Yes."

"Looks better than a lot of those nobles that I'm used to see, actually."

"Yeah..." She looks at the settlement with sadness. "Sometimes I hate this."

"What?"

"Not being the heir of the Ashford. My mother always looks for some noble for me to marry, so we can elevate the family status. On the other hand, my cousin Muriel can choose any person to marry."

"I'm sorry."

"I just wish that I could control my own life, at least once."

"What would you do?"

"Tell the guy that I love what I fell about him."

"Really? You like someone?"

"Of course! I'm just a regular girl, you know?"

"I see... and who do you like?"

"Secret."

"That's new, you never held any secret from me."

"There's always a first time, Lucian." She says while she starts to leave, but she stops in the middle of the way. "Hey, how much did you loved Shirley?"

"More than anything in my life."

"If you start to go out with another girl, what would you do?"

"Hum... I guess that I would be fulfilling Shirley's last wish."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing at all." She says, without the same lived air around her. "Thanks, Lucian."

She is gone now, leaving me there, wondering who the person that she loves might be. She must be telling the truth, since I always know when she is kidding, but I wonder what kind of guy could get the attention of Milly.

_**Milly**_

I am lying down in my bed, crying in my pillow as I curse my mother. Someone knocks the door, but I just ignore it. It continues to knock and I discover who is it: my grandfather. I get up, cleaning my tears as I get ready to open the door.

"Milly, are you okay? You seem down to me."

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me."

"You can't lie to me. I always know when you are hiding something or sad, and now you are in both states."

"I..."

"It's your marriage, right?"

"How did you...?"

"I know you since you where a child. You can tell me anything, you know?"

After some thought, I decide to give him a chair and I sit down on my own legs in the bed, holding my pillow against my chest. I look at him with a sad look, almost crying.

"I don't want to get married to someone that I don't even know."

"I can't say too much, since your mother won't listen to me anyway."

"This is all because the other side of the family are in service of Empress Marianne and we aren't."

"True... but I've got married just like you: by an arrangement of my parents and I had a very happy life with your grandmother."

"I know! The problem is that I already love a person."

"Let me guess: black hair, tall and looks like some prince?"

"What?" I say, blushing and feeling really hot. "Of course..."

"You are a terrible liar."

I look away from him, knowing that he is right. During my whole life, no one around my age would treat me like a normal person: those below me treated me like a noble and those above, with contempt. Even in the academy, everyone respects me for being a noble and the chairman's granddaughter, but Lucian has never did this.

Since the beginning, he didn't cared about my status or anything else, but just with the real Milly, the one that he talks every day. I have come to love him, gradually increasing this feeling as time passed. When Shirley and him started dating, I decided that this was the best, since we could never be together.

Now Lucian is alone again, but I can't say anything to him, because I know that we can never be together. Every time I see him, I suffer alone while he continues to move forward with his life. One day he will get married to some girl and I will be stuck with Lloyd, a man that I have never heard before our first meeting.

Tears come down my face as I hug my grandfather, fully aware that he can't do anything to change my fate, but all that I want now is comfort. Crying in his arms, I wonder how destiny can be so cruel and twisted with some people.

_**Lucian**_

"Suzaku Kururugi and Princess Euphemia are going to meet some noble from their homeland in Shikine Island and this presents a golden opportunity for us. That far out in the sea, the enemy won't be prepared for an attack, making this a chance to capture Kururugi and his frame, the Lancelot. After the battle I want him taken safely into custody."

I can see that Tohdoh, Katase and Kallen appreciate these orders and I fell good about them. Once we capture him, I can try another time to convince him to join me, but even if he doesn't want it, I can simply lock him and get him out of my way, so I won't have to kill him.

"What happens after we got him?" Tamaki asks.

"I will take care of him, so don't worry."

* * *

"You wanted to talk with me, Zero?"

"Yes Diethard, come in." He enters my office and I look at him. "I want to ask you some questions."

"Go ahead."

"Why did you ordered Kallen to kill Kururugi, fully aware that I hadn't decided what to do with him?"

"I just told her to take care of Kururugi, watching every step that he does. Maybe I implied a little bit more than that."

"Next time you think to do something behind my back again, think twice, otherwise I might get really angry."

"We are the ones who shall apply justice to this world, right? Of course we can't use those methods, but we can, at the same time, use the media to hide the fact that we used them, You can't change this world without getting your hands filled with blood."

"I know that well, believe me." I look at his face again. "What are you really after, Diethard?"

"I've never meant to join the Black Knights, but in the night that you rescued Kururugi, I trembled... it was like a new era just took human form right in front of me! I wish to document you in each step of your way as you destroy the world's biggest country and create this world of true justice of yours. I wish to document history being created!"

"Very well." I sign him to leave, but I add something before he goes. "You aren't allowed to interfere with military matters, understood?"

"Yes, of course." He leaves me there, thinking about what he talked to me.

_**Suzaku**_

We have arrived right in time in Shikine Island and there are some military waiting for us here. They salute Princess Euphemia as she gets in the land, saying that an escort was prepared to take her to the headquarters, but the man receives a messenger from the radio. Apparently, the base is being attacked by terrorists, most probably the Black Knights.

"It would be better to withdraw to the settlement. Can you arrange an escort for her?" Cecile asks those man.

"It's too dangerous right now. There's some kind of interference in the radars right now."

"Don't worry Princess, I'll protect you with all my might." I say to her, looking directly into her eyes.

"No Suzaku, you should help these men to fend off this attack."

"But Princess, he's a honorary Britannian! How do you know that he won't turn his back on us?"

"Pardon me, but you do realize that you are criticizing a member of royalty, right?" Lloyd says to the military.

"P-pardon me, your Highness!"

"Kururugi, demonstrate your value for us today. That way, those stupid rumors might cease to exist."

"Right!"

* * *

I arrive in the battlefield with the Lancelot and I destroy a unit with my Slash Harkens. I use my shield to defend against a shot coming from somewhere out of the base and I see it: Zero's blue Knightmare.

I go after him, but he starts to fall back, leaving his own troops behind, which was expected from such a coward like him. Instead of facing me in battle, he prefers to run like a scared kitty. I continue my pursuit as we arrive into a round and downed sand area, but he doesn't have any equipment to be in a place like this, so why does he jumped there? He is trying to lure me there using himself as bait? If is that so, then I shall accept his invitation.

I get there and I draw my sword against him, pointing it to him. At this point, all the systems of the Lancelot stop working and I can't make they work. What have you done Zero? Could be that the Black Knights have a way to stop the functioning of Knightmares?

"We need to talk Kururugi." Zero speaks from outside the Lancelot. "Aside from your primary systems, everything should be working perfectly now. You'll be treated as a prisoner under international law, but if you don't want to talk, we can just gun you down."

Bastard! He really used himself as bait! I could never have thought that a device to stop Knightmares could exist and now I am in the middle of the mousetrap, with no way to get out, unless...

I get out of the Lancelot and I see that Zero's Knightmare isn't functioning either, so the Black Knights have the device, but not a way to defend themselves against it. Zero is pointing a gun to me, but I don't fear someone like him.

"I'll get straight to the point here: I want you to join me."

"Threatening me? I refuse! I told you before: something achieve by wrong means are worthless of any valor."

"Really? And what about the man you murdered seven years ago? The one that killed your own father?"

How does he know about that? Could it be Tohdoh? No, he won't tell Zero something like that, so how in hell does someone like him knows that I killed a man seven years ago?

"If I wouldn't, he would kill me!"

"And your brother as well?"

"How...?"

"Oh, I know you, Kururugi, better than you think: even if it was for self-defense, you are still guilty from that, aren't you? That's why you go through this path, to redeem yourself for killing that man."

"No! That's not it! The reason why I try so hard to change the system is..."

"Yes?"

"In the beginning, it was to create a world where no one would be treated differently, but now I have another reason."

"What it is?"

"You know my brother, right? Society won't accept the fact that he has an Eleven as brother, so we can't treat each other like brothers when someone is around us. All I want to do is to be able to simply call him "oni-san" without fearing what might happen to him."

"You... you are doing this... for his sake?" Zero says with a surprised tone.

"Yes, I am. I will continue to fight in order to achieve this goal and that's why I can't allow you to do whatever you want, Zero."

"Kururugi, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you really believe that you can change Britannia, despite of what they are? Despite how they build their society?"

"Yes."

"What would you do with people like Lelouch? No matter how hard you try, there's always someone like him to end this peace that you want so hard. Besides, even if you do change the system for the better, there's no guarantee that it will continue that way after some time."

I look away from him, knowing that what he said is true: people like Lelouch would always exist and I can't change the true nature of men. Even if I change it, when I die it can goes back to what it was before and maybe it is pointless to continue in this path. However, I need to continue moving forward, since there is no way back for me now.

"Sorry, but I'll continue the way I choose for myself."

"If you join me, we can change the way things are."

"Even at the costs of human lives? Is that what you want to say?"

"Do you really think that I don't care? That I don't recall every innocent life that I took in the process? Kururugi, does my mask make your forget that I am human too?"

"I..."

"I've lost everything because of Britannia's system: family, happiness, friends and those that I most cared for, more than just once. If I could find a way to end this peacefully, then I should do it without any complain, but The way that things are right now can't be changed from the inside, as there'll be always someone to destroy the changes."

"I've lost those things as well, so..."

"Believe me, you hadn't felt nothing from the pain that Britannia had brought to me." He approaches me and whisper in my ear. "What if I tell you that my own father sent me to a research facility in order to improve my body and serve as a guinea pig, just because I was too weak?"

"What?"

"The way Britannia is can't be changed just by good acts alone and I wish that there could be a way to stop this cycle off hate, but I can't think of any and that's why I fight in the way I do."

"Do you really believe that it is impossible to change it from the inside?"

"They are just so deteriorated that it is impossible for them to change. I'm sorry, but that is just the truth, Suzaku." For a second here, I recall Lucian speaking my name. "I have yet another reason to fight Britannia."

"What's it?"

"A person close to me can't walk." As he says it, I see Emily in my mind. "No matter how much academics that person might has, it won't be treated like a normal person in society."

Before this talk, I thought that Zero was just a selfish person without any concern about the innocent, but now I see that he cares and has something to fight for, just like me. Doubts fill my mind as I start to see his point: centuries using the current system can't be changed in just a lifetime and even if someone continues my work, there'll be always someone to stop its advance and the change won't ever arrive.

Zero may be right: the only way to stop all of this is to destroy the current way and create a new one from the ashes. I remind Princess Euphemia and I wonder what should I do, because I don't want to destroy her trust by joining with the Black Knights. What should I do?

"Major Kururugi? Please answer!" My earphone turns on.

"May I?"

"Go ahead." Zero says.

"We're launching missiles in the place you are now. Your orders are to held Zero there, understood?" They are telling me to die? Just like that?

Even with all my doubts, I grab Zero and I point his own gun against his head. I enter the Lancelot's cockpit holding him and I throw him there, pointing the gun at him.

"You are going to die like that? They are throwing you out!"

"I..."

"Do you see? There's no way to change the system peacefully, so we have to fight against it! Please, Suzaku!" His tone of voice shows desperation.

"Do you want to life that much?"

"I don't care about me right now, only for you!" He says, putting off his mask. "Please, oni-san!"

I look right at Lucian's face and I let the gun fall. This can't be, it just can't be possible! My kind brother... the one that I swore to protect above anyone else... is Zero! That means that... he killed Shirley's father and...

I hear the missiles being shot outside and I don't move, just look at him, barely assimilating what I see. A shadow appears above us and I see a large ship floating in the sky, with a big hatch opened and two red lights coming from inside its dark empty.

I can't let them kill Lucian, but my orders are to remain still in order to kill Zero. God, what should I do? Either side that I choose, I would only betray either my family or myself.

Without any time left, I make my decision. May I forgive myself for it later, if I survive.


	18. Stage 18: Brotherhood

**Stage 18:**

**Revelations**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

There are a lot of seagulls in the blue sky now and I am barely awake, trying to understand what happened before and why I am all wet (no second thoughts here). I get up and I look around, seeing a beach with some rocks here and there, but what caught my attention is an object that doesn't belongs here: a black mask, Zero's.

Everything starts to get back to me as I recall the events: Zero takes off his mask and I see his true identity as Lucian, my own brother. My orders were to stay still and let them kill me together with Zero, but I couldn't let my brother die like that. Even if he is Zero, he continues to be the same Lucian that I swore to protect.

I put the mask down my arm as I walk in the beach, looking for the owner of that thing. I don't exactly regret my decision: the second I saw that the Lancelot was operational, I used it in order to escape from that place and save my brother. I don't remember much after that, but somehow we ended up in the sea and now I am here, looking for him.

I just hope that he is in this same island and not in any other, because I really need to talk with him about everything. If what he told me back there was true, I need to know exactly what Britannia did to him, in order to decide which side I will take. If is really true that his own father sent him to be a guinea pig, then I can't stand to be with that Britannia anymore!

"Lucian!" I find him, laying in the sand with his face on it.

I run in his direction and I turn him up, seeing that he is pale, like he is dead. I pray to any god out there that he isn't and a wave of relief fills my chest as I hear his hearth beating inside his chest. I put him in my back and I carry him to a more hidden place, in case anyone is looking for us, ally or enemy.

I found a hollow in the rocks that would hide us in case someone appear in the beach looking for me or him. It also provides a safe place to be in case we need to stay here for some time or pass the night.

I put him on the floor with care, sitting in a rock at his side, looking at how strange he is right now: looks like someone took a picture of Zero and put Lucian's head in the place of the mask. I ask myself how I am going to talk with him when he wakes up, since I know everything that he did as Zero.

My biggest fear, thought, isn't the now, but the future: how can I still look at him as the kind and gentle brother after I discovered that he is a murderer? I will be able to laugh with him like always?

"Hum... what...?" He starts to wake up, sitting down and looking confused.

"We are in an island, probably near Shikine."

"Suzaku? When...?"

"I found you on the beach, as well as this." I throw his mask at his feet. "Zero."

"I see... how did we survived?"

"I used the Lancelot to make get us out of that strange weapon beams. After that, I don't remember anything, do you?"

"No... Listen, I think that we need to talk."

"Oh, really? About what? The fact that you are a terrorist that killed innocent people? Or perhaps the fact that one of those innocent lives that you took was the father of your now dead girlfriend?"

"I..."

"let's not forget about all those times that you tried to murder your own mother! You claim that Britannia is corrupted, but you are as much as it!"

"I would never kill Marianne! My intent was to capture her alive!"

"Killing the innocents along the way? What kind of monster are you, Lucian?!"

"DO YOU THINK THAT I WANTED IT?" He yells at me, crying. "Do you, Suzaku?"

"I don't know any longer what you can or can't do, Lucian."

"I've never meant to kill those people in Narita, it was an error, a sin that I must burden inside of my soul."

"That's it? Taking lives is just an error for you? You don't even care about having blood in your hands?"

"I care, but I was a sinner since before I even met you." He looks at me with pain. "I killed for the first time when I was six."

I have no words to describe his pain, showed with so much strength in his eyes that you can almost touch it. I never knew anything about Lucian's past before I met him nine years ago, but now I see that he carries those memories and they hurt him until now.

"Is it true that your father, the Emperor, sent you to a research facility?"

"Yes, I didn't lied about that."

"Why would he...?"

"According to what I heard, it was because I was too weak to be considered even a successful heir."

"So he just throw you away?"

"Seems like it." He looks at the floor. "I only discovered it when I was eight, right before I met you."

"You never told me about this."

"The only ones that ever heard my history where Genbu and the old Kirihara. That's the reason why he took me as his son: to protect me from Britannia."

"I would like to hear your history and then make my decision."

"About what?"

"Joining the Black Knights."

"I see..."

"But first I must confirm one thing: Shirley died some days after her father died. I wonder if you killed her."

"Why?"

"A girl whose father was murdered would probably want to get revenge against the one who killed someone so close to her. If she discovered about your identity, she must have wanted to kill you, but you..."

"I would never do such a thing with Shirley! She died by the hands of a man that hated me."

"So, you being Zero caused..."

"The man hated me not because of Zero, but because of C.C"

"What?"

"It's time to tell you the whole truth, Suzaku."

Lucian tells me things that would be impossible: that C.C is an Immortal that can gives a strange power called Geass to people and Lucian received this very ability in the day at Shinjuku. His Geass allows him to gives people any order, even if he commands them to die. He explains that Geass allowed him to save me when I was going to be judged by Clovis's death. He also told me about how Shirley really died.

"Is this all true?"

"Every piece of it."

"But... if you can make people obey you, why do you armed all this thing just to either capture me or make me join the Black Knights of free will? Wouldn't be easier to just use this "Geass" on me?"

"I won't force people to join me! I don't want anyone to be at my side against their will, so I don't force them in doing so."

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't."

"During those days after her death... what were you really doing?"

"Hunting Mao, the one who killed Shirley."

"Did you got him?"

"Yes and I don't want to add anything. What I did to him... I can't just think about it."

"Lucian..."

"Do you want to hear my history? I can assure you, it isn't a pleasant one."

"Go ahead."

"My name wasn't Lucian, but Subject-16, one of the many experiments of the base "Code-G", but I never saw the other ones, if they where alive at my time spent there. I can't remember about my first six years, but I can clearly remember that day, when I was six years old: the first time that blood covered my face."

**2006 A.T.B**

A little boy is apparently sleeping in a bed with a lot of equipments and tubes attached to his body. Two men are looking at a monitor and taking notes about what it shows.

"The subject seems to be responding well to the augmentations made in his body."

"His level of pain endurance has reached, as well as his reflexes."

"Does that mean that we can pass to phase 6?"

"I think that it's too risk now. We can't afford to lose him now, not after the loss of Subject-08."

"You are right. I'm going to tell the boss about it when..." The man stops talking when he sees a monitor.

"What's happening?"

"His levels of brain activity are rising at an abnormal speed. We need to stop this before he dies." He says going for a cabinet containing medications and syringes. "I'll give him this sedative to calm him down."

When he approaches the boy, however, the little human is fully awake and scared about this place, so different from where he is used. He tries to get up, but one of the men grab him, holding him firmly. The problem is that the boy doesn't stop moving, making it impossible to use the sedative on him.

"Hold him still!"

"I'm trying, can't you... AAAAHHH" He says as the boy bites his arm, taking a piece of it.

"What the hell..." The boy jumps in the other man, making both to fall in the floor.

The boy gets up and runs towards the door, but it is locked and he can't open it. The man the he bit is now going after him and he sees the only solution near him: a scalpel. He gets it and, with his eyes closed, do a movement in front of him, cutting something.

A hot liquid goes all over his face, making impossible for him to see. He cleans that thing, only to find out that it was blood, blood from the man that was going after him. He is bleeding in the floor, dead from the blow that the boy delivered.

The other one tries to call for help, but the boy, instinctively, throw the scalpel at him, hitting his throat and making him unable to speak. He goes to the floor with fear in his eyes, but not as much as in the boy's, that is looking to his own hands, filled with blood that is still hot. He yells in full despair before someone arrives and take him down.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"You just killed them? Why?"

"Probably because of reflexes, since at that time I couldn't control my own body the right way. It's just like a wild animal that is locked: he gets scared and do anything to escape."

"How did you discovered about your parents?"

"With this." He shows his necklace, the one that I never see he putting off. "The old owner of this told me."

"Who was it?"

"A woman called Lucretia, but I never knew her surname."

"Why she told you?"

"Pity, maybe. She said that she couldn't face what they were doing with me anymore, so she helped in my escape."

"That's how you ended up in Japan?"

"Yes. The Code-G base was located in the old Pearl Harbor base, a perfect place, since no one goes there since the First Pacific War."

"How was she?"

"Well..."

**2007 A.T.B**

"Okay, now let's put you inside this place, okay?"

"What is this, Miss Lucretia?"

"It's a MRI, a machine that allows you to see inside the human body, that way we can see if it is everything okay inside you."

"Does it hurt?" The boy says in a whisper, scared.

"No, this exam doesn't hurt, I promise you." She says with some sadness in her eyes. "If you stay still, I can put you to sleep."

"Thanks..."

Things go without any problem and soon Lucian is free from the entrains of the machine. He goes out, putting his white restrain clothes on and waiting for Lucretia to goes to where he is.

"See? It doesn't hurt, right?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Let's go back to your room now."

She close the restrains in his clothes, alloying him only to walk, but not to use his arms freely. This was set after the problem they had in the last year, when the boy killed two researchers. Lucretia never uses those things when anyone is watching, but they are necessary to move him around.

They get to Lucian's room, a place that doesn't have anything strange or colorful. The whole space is white: the bed, the floor, the walls, with the only exception being one of the walls being colorless and transparent, allowing anyone to see the boy when he is inside.

It's more like a cell, actually, but Lucretia does everything that she can to make the boy more comfortable about his whole situation. Occasionally she brings toys and sweets to him and tells stories to make him sleep.

"Lucretia?"

"Yes, Lucian?"

"Why do I have to suffer like that?"

"That's a very hard question, but I don't know."

"I wish that a fairy godmother would appear and take me out here, like in that story."

"I'm sorry Lucian."

"You shouldn't. You are the only person that is kind with me here, even when you put injections on me. With you they hurt les than the normal."

"I wish to help you more one day." She says while she looks at the sleepy boy. "Good night, Lucian."

"Good night." Still awake, she finishes with a word that gets her by surprise. "Mother."

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"So you started to see her as your mother?"

"Yes. During this period, she was the only one that I could talk sincerely and the only one who doesn't treated me like just an experiment. However, she continued to do those things with me, even with all that she said."

"Do you know why?"

"Maybe it was her duty, but I can't complain about her, since she was the only piece of hope that I had. A little piece, not so shiny, but still made me pass through it all."

At this moment, his belly growled loudly, making me looking at his red face. After some time, my own stomach makes a sound, like it was waiting for an opportunity.

"I think that you are hungry." He says."

"You seems to be as well."

We both look at each other in a serious manner, with our faces a little red, but we end up laughing loudly. We laughed so hard that anyone could hear us in case they were around.

"I was fearing that we would never do this again."

"What?"

"Laugh together, you know, like there isn't anything else in the world."

"True..."

The sun is high up in the sky by now and I am covered in sweat, as well as Lucian, so we put off our uniforms above the waist. I lie down on the floor, feeling a calm that I hadn't felt for some time, not since seven years ago. Lucian revealed the truth to me and now I start to see his point: Britannia won't change by honored means, but only by the path of blood.

"We should get something to eat before gets dark."

"I agree... do you know how to catch fish with your hands?"

_**Kallen**_

I can't believe that I got dragged to this island! I went outside the Guren in an attempt to save Lucian from Kururugi, but I just got here in this strange island, without being able to contact anyone. I am in a small waterfall, washing my body from the sand and the sea salt, worried about what happened to Lucian.

Just the thought that he might got caught by Britannia gives me shivers, but I can't lose hope. Ohgi and the others might be looking for us right now as I wash myself. I touch down there and I tremble a little, remembering unwittingly of Lucian... God, I am a dirty girl for thinking in those things at this kind of situations...

All the resistance is gone as I start it, feeling the pleasure strongly and fast. It ends fast, but I let out a loud moan, one that I would never allow anyone to hear, but I am alone in this island...

"Hum... what are you doing?"

I practically jump from where I am and I see a person that I didn't wanted to see: Euphemia li Britannia. Before she can do anything else I get up and grab my pouch, revealing my hidden knife from inside it. I go in her direction and I put the knife in her throat.

"What are you doing here, Britannian?"

"I don't know... I was around that strange hole when that strange beam shot. Next thing that I know, I'm here in this island, alone." I continue to hold the knife against her. "Please... you are hurting me!"

"Does anyone knows that you are here?" I say, putting the knife away.

"They probably know that I went there, but no one must know that I am here now."

"So we are in the same situation, hum?" I look down and I see her dress filled with sand and earth. "Seems like your dress is destroyed."

"I don't care as long as the body using it isn't."

"A princess that doesn't care about style, that's certainly new."

"Well... I can't say much about your style of clothing thought." She says, looking away from me.

"What's wrong? Never saw another woman naked?"

"Besides my sisters, no."

"You don't need to be ashamed, there's no men here." I think that I can low my guard now, she seems to be a pretty weak girl. "Let's get you clean, okay?"

She took off her clothes and she tries to cover herself, even with me saying that she doesn't need. She goes bellow the waterfall and we both take a bath together and I wash her clothes together with mine.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Well, I think that if I had encountered any other member of the Black Knights, they wouldn't be so kind."

"How do you..."

"The symbol in your clothes."

"I see... can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Why did you made Kururugi your Knight?"

"It seemed the right thing to do. I just hate how Britannia treats Numbers, like they aren't humans, so I did it to prove that anyone can be a person as good as a Britannia."

"You are strange, for a Britannian, I mean."

"I know... but I want to change the way things are now, so that's another reason for Suzaku's nomination."

"Hum... sorry, but I don't see how you can change something that's already rotten to the core."

"That's why you are with the Black Knights?"

"That's right! And I will follow Zero until the end, no matter what you might say."

"Do you love him?"

"W-what? How...?"

"Your eyes just shined as you spoke his name."

"Is that obvious?"

"Yes, to another woman."

Why am I talking so casually with her? She is supposed to be my enemy, but I can't just treat her like that. We continue our conversation while our clothes get dry and I don't know why, but I feel very relaxed around her. My belly roar, saying to me that I need to eat and Euphemia's says the same.

* * *

"Sorry about this poor meal."

"What do you mean? Those fruits are delicious."

"Well, I just thought that as a princess..."

"I eat whatever they bring to me and I don't need that much to be satisfied."

"Okay then." I say, putting more of those fruits inside my mouth.

I am not able to hunt or fish without proper equipments, so all that I got were those little fruits that didn't seemed poisoned, so here we go. Euphemia doesn't speak much now, but I se that she is thinking a lot.

"How Zero is?"

"Sorry?"

"I asked how Zero is to his subordinates."

"Comrades. That man doesn't like to call those who fight alongside him of subordinates. This should give you an idea of how he is."

"I see... I met him before, during the hijacking of that hotel."

"And?"

"I think until now about this meeting, about who Zero is."

"Why?"

"Because I think that I know the man behind the mask."

"Really? How is that possible?"

"I first must confirm it before I can guarantee anything."

"And what if he is?"

"I don't know, but I must try to ask him about it."

"Don't lose your time, he doesn't show his face to anyone else."

"So you saw it? He must be very pretty, since you were doing that back there in the waterfall."

"What? No way!"

She laughs a little as I say this and I can't stop to let a smile out. That girl is so easy to speak and I don't need to hide my real personality, so I am kind of happy now.

We look at the sunset together, with me getting sad by the fact that once we get back, we will be enemies once more, so I enjoy this moment of peace.

_**Suzaku**_

"That was quite the meal!" I say while I put the rests of my fish in the floor.

"We were lucky to have those herbs around, otherwise the fish wouldn't be so tasty."

"You are really a great cooker! Rivalz told me about it, but is much better eating for yourself."

"Yeah... you could go home at the Sundays, those are the days that I make breakfast at home."

"Are you sure? You know... after what happened?"

We went into an uncomfortable silence, one with only the stars in the sky as our comrades. It is strange that seconds ago we were eating together, like he wasn't Zero and me, a Britannian's Knight, but this is gone now and it won't be like that ever again.

"Suzaku... what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know... about your decision."

"I... still don't know."

"I see... then, I should end my history, right?"

"End?"

"Let me tell you how it ends, how I lost Lucretia."

"Okay... you don't need to tell me that."

"No, I want it! Now that I started, I must go to the end."

**2008 A.T.B**

"Lucian, get ready, we must go!"

"What happened?"

"Just get your things, and fast! We don't have much time!"

Lucretia has drops of sweat going down on her face and she is looking at the glass wall with anxiety. Lucian is surprised by her behavior, since it's been a long time since he saw her in such a state. He doesn't have much, so he finishes getting prepared fast.

"Okay now, you stay quiet while we get out, okay dear?"

"Where are we going? Do I have a test?"

"No, honey, you doesn't. I'm getting you out of here, of this place."

"Where are..."

"Listen, keep the questions from when we get outside and into the ship, alright?"

Lucian nods to show his answer to her and they both get on their way out, luckily enough, they don't cross with any guard in the way. Once outside, Lucian see for the first time the sky, but most important, the stars. The boy always heard stories about them, but he only saw it on pictures, not the real ones. Now, the only thing that makes he continue to walk is Lucretia pulling his tiny hand.

They arrive in a boat that is about to set sail from the little port, but they don't enter by the catwalk leading to the deck, but by an entrance for the cargo. Once inside, she tells him to stay quiet for some time, at least until they are in open sea. Lucian waits patiently, wondering what might be happening, not that he isn't happy to be out of that building, with all its white walls and painful memories.

"Okay, now we can talk, but try to whisper, okay?"

"Where are we going?"

"To a place that, I hope at least, they won't be looking for us: Japan, a country that is independent from Britannia. There we might be safe."

"Safe from what? Why they don't want to leave me alone?"

"Lucian, it's just too complicated for a child, so you need to trust me, right dear?"

Lucian agrees with it, keeping quiet for the long days that passed until they arrive in Japan. Once in a while, she would get out to get something to eat and drink, but it was a quiet journey, with both of them in complete silence for most the trip.

* * *

The boy has his mouth wide open as the two of them walk in the streets of Tokyo during the sunset. He never saw so many different people around him and so many colors together, besides the white. Lucretia holds his hand to make him move, but the boy wants to stop every ten seconds to look at something pretty normal, like a car or a bookstore, anything that he never saw in person.

They go to a little hotel in order to hide themselves and Lucian has a pair of shining eyes as he looks through the window to the city, delighted with the sounds and smells of this place. Lucretia talks with someone in the cell phone, looking worried and checking Lucian all the time, but the boy is too busy to care about her.

"Lucian, we need to talk about something really serious, so you need to listen."

"What's it?"

"Listen... do you know who your father is?"

"No... I don't know."

"It's complicated, but he is... the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia."

"Hum? But... that means that I am a prince?"

"Yes... but he rejected you as Lucian vi Britannia."

"Why? What have I done to him?"

"You were born to weak and that is the ultimate shame for a member of the Royal Family, to have a weakling as a possible heir."

"I..."

"That's also why you spent your whole life in that place: to serve as a guinea pig, the only way for you to be useful."

"He has... sent me there? I...I..."

"It's painful, I know, but you need to know the truth, dear. For now on, you must get stronger to survive."

"I'm scared."

"I know, honey, I know." She embraces the shaking boy strongly. "I'll do my best to help you in the years to come, you understand?"

"Yes... mother." Tears fill the eyes of the woman as she gets her necklace out and puts it around Lucian's neck.

"A memento... in order to make you don't forget, okay?"

Lucian doesn't say anything, but he hugs her, like a son would hug his mother, but Lucretia has sadness in her eyes, just like she knows what is coming towards her.

* * *

"Why are we here?"

"I need to meet someone here and I can't leave you all alone. Don't worry, we won't be there for a long time."

They are walking in some kind of forest during the day, so it is possible to see a tiny bit of the sun when the trees leave an opening, but it continues to be a little dark there. Lucian holds Lucretia's hand, sensing that something bad is going to happen.

They arrive in an open space, but there is no one there waiting for her, but she was already waiting for it. She looks at Lucian with fear and a little bit of sorrow.

"Lucian, I just want to tell you... I've loved you more than anything during the time that we spent together."

"Yes, me too."

"I beg of you to hold those memories deep inside you and that you can forgive me when the time comes."

"Forgive you?"

"I'm so sorry, Lucian." She says when a gunshot is heard and she falls to the ground, bleeding from her stomach.

"MOTHER!" He holds her while she fells her life going out from the hole in her belly.

"So here you two are." A group of men appear from the shadows. "The two targets that the Emperor sent us to kill."

"Kill? Wait... the Emperor? Who are you?"

"We are Pluton and yes, the Emperor himself ordered us to hunt you two, not that I really understand why we would be used to hunt a woman and a child."

"Lucian... run..."

"It's too late boy, there's no way that we are going to let you go just like that. Orders are orders." He says, pointing a gun to the boy.

In that very moment, a knife stabs the hand holding the gun, making the one holding it to scream and shoot to the air. The next second a dark figure appear from the trees and starts to fight the assassins, defeating them one by one.

"Run!" The newcomer yells to the boy. "Run while they are busy."

"But... Lucretia is..."

"Run to safety and only stops when you find a safe place to stay." The man says while a birdlike sigil appears on his uncovered eye.

Lucian just starts to run, against his own will, to find someplace safe. He wants to go back, but his only concern now is to be safe, no matter what.

The kid runs in the woods, desperately, trying to flee from the bad guys. They want him, to the point that they will even kill for it. He doesn't exactly know where he can go, but he needs to do it. "Lucretia-san" he thinks while holding a gold necklace in his hands. Suddenly he stumbles in a rock, falling down the hill.

When he finally stops, he is hearing voices. "They are here", he thought while trying to get up. There's blood in his mouth and he feels an acute pain all over his body, but he can't give up, not after what happened to Lucretia... His legs are shaking, making it hard to be on feet, but he can't give up, he has to run.

A boy appears before him, yelling with someone back him. The wounded one can't understand, but the other boy looks worried. The first fall to the ground, with his face on the earth. His head feels strange, while the flavor of earth and blood cover his mouth. He looks to the sky, but it had turned dark green. "Great, now I'm hallucinating", but, after a second look, it seems that the green was from the other boy's eyes.

"Are you okay?" The boy asks in a nervous voice.

"I... I don't... Where am I?"

"You will be okay, don't worry about it. Here, use my shoulder."

Using his shoulder to get up, he goes back on his feet. There are a lot of grown-ups going in their direction.

"What ... is your name?" Asks the first boy.

"My name is Suzaku Kururugi, and you are at my house. An who are you?"

"My name is ... Lu...cian."

He passes.

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"I remember the end! That's when you appeared at home!"

"Yes, it is."

"Who was that guy? And why did he saved you?"

"I don't know, but I know only one thing."

"He had Geass, right?"

"Yes, although I just discovered it when I received my own. The question is: why would he save me? Was he the one that Lucretia would met in that fateful day? I don't have those answers, but I'll find it out, one day."

"She... died, right?"

"Probably, but I never saw her body, so there's a little possibility that..."

"She's still alive somewhere?"

"Yes, but I'm not that hopeful with this. If she was alive, I would ask her what she meant by that, when she begged me to forgive her."

"Yeah... she's one of the reasons why you fight, right?"

"Yes, she is. I don't fight only for my own reasons, but from many others reasons."

"Like what?"

"To create a world of justice, a true justice." I get up and I look at the ocean. "To create a world where no child would have to bear what I had. To make people realize that they can fight back, no matter how strong their enemies might be."

"So you became Zero to change this whole world for the best? Do you really think that you can?"

"I don't know if I am right, maybe you are right in trying to change the system from inside..."

"Lucian... I'm not so sure that this is possible, not anymore."

"Why?"

"I never thought that the people are so corrupted to send heir own child to be used as experiences. I cannot accept a system that do such a thing and I don't think that, once you get so corrupted, you can be changed peacefully."

"Suzaku..."

"Lucian, I know you, so I know that you would never do such things without a reason. Before today, I thought that Zero was a cold-blood murderer, but now that I know your reasons and your past, I can finally give you my answer."

Suzaku then get on his knees, like he did with Euphemia yesterday, making me surprised. He looks down with a convinced face, a face without any doubt.

"I offer you my services as your loyal soldier, Zero."

"Are you sure? There's no way back once you accept it."

"I'm sure."

"What about Euphemia? She..."

"Before I swore my loyalty to her, I made a vow to you, remember?"

"But..."

"She might suffer with my decision and the other nobles might be mean to her, but I can't live with myself being a Knight from Britannia. Besides, after I disobeyed orders like that way earlier, I bet that they would execute me for it."

"Suzaku... is this your true wish?"

"Yes."

"Then I accept you, Suzaku Kururugi, as my loyal knight. Now rise as a member of the Order of the Black Knight."

He gets up with the same serious face as before, but now everything has changed. In the morning, he wasn't aware of my secrets and was affiliated with my enemy, but now we don't have secrets with one another and he is on my side. I hold his hand is an agreement, one that can only be made for brothers.


	19. Stage 19: Treason

**Stage 19:**

**Treason**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"Hum... are you sure that we should be entering the island deeper?" Suzaku asks me.

"There might be some kind of base where we can get a radio and contact the Black Knights."

"If there is a base, it's a Britannian, so how do you plan to use a radio?"

"Geass."

"Alright... I keep forgetting about it. Anyway, how did you managed to get to Shikine Island?"

"A submarine."

"No kidding? Man, the black Knights really are powerful, more than Marianne predicted."

"Never underestimates your opponent, no matter how weak they are, otherwise you might be defeated."

"You really speak like a general, just as Ikutsuki used to say."

"He was a good man. Another reason to fight Britannia."

"Yeah..."

"You aren't used to the idea of fighting Britannia, are you?"

"That's not it, it's just that I've made some friends there."

"I see... it must be hard..." I sense something coming in our direction, so I hide us in some scrub. "Someone is coming."

"Who?" He whisper to me, crouched at my side.

"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter now. We need to..."

The two people that I felt appear before us, but this vision is so unreal that I can't believe: Euphemia and Kallen, together in this Island. Suzaku has his own mouth opened as he looks at me, shocked.

"What in hell are they doing here?"

"Kallen I might have an answer, but not for Euphemia. Why she's here?"

"Like I know! Wait, you know how Kallen is here."

"She is the pilot of that red Knightmare."

"She is what?! How..."

"She's a little different from the school."

"Yeah... I bet."

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Kallen says, grabbing her knife from her pocket.

"Wait a second." I say to him while I put my mask on and get up.

"Zero?" Kallen says, surprised by my appearance.

"Yes Kallen. Seems like we both ended up in this island and I'm surprised by your company."

"So we meet again, Zero." Euphemia says with some kind of sad face.

"Yes, Euphemia, and this time I have you right at my hands."

"Zero, you won't hurt her, are you?" Kallen says, looking worried for some reason (what happened between those two?)

"Of course not, I'm not a brute, you know that."

"Zero, I want to ask you something, in private if you must."

"Whatever you might have to say, the captain of my Guard can listen as well."

"Are you sure? Do you trust her enough?"

"Hey!" Kallen looks at her, irritated.

"With my own life." She gets red as Euphemia nods.

"You are Lucian Lamperouge, that man that visited us sometimes, right?"

What? How did she discovered? I hadn't said anything that could made she thinks of me as Zero, did I? If she knows, that means that others persons might know about my identity, but even if they don't know, I can't allow her to tell anyone.

"I've didn't told anyone, so please! If you really is Lucian, let me know!"

"What kind of bullshit are you talking? Zero isn't..."

"Kallen, stay quiet, please?" I look at Euphemia and I know that she is telling the truth. "If I'm Lucian, what would you do?"

"First I must confirm."

I take a moment to think about it, but in the end I take off my mask, revealing to another person my true face as a student. She looks at me, without any surprise, different from Kallen.

"I knew it... you are Zero."

"Yes, I am, indeed. I'm also the one who killed Clovis, you beloved brother."

"You are the one who tried to protect me when Lelouch slapped my face, remember?"

"Euphemia..."

"I'm so relieved that it's really you, Lucian."

"Why?"

"I thought of Zero as a monster for killing Clovis, but after I discovered about his orders to kill innocent people, I started to rethink my initial judgment. Now that I discovered that you are Zero, I am a little more calm."

"I'm your enemy! How can you...?"

"I know that you don't hurt those that are innocent, so I won't need to worry, right?"

"Yes... when did you figured it out?"

"In the hotelkacking I sensed that I've met you before and every time you appeared to visit Nunnaly and me, that feeling grow stronger."

"You really is different, Euphemia."

"Please, call me Euphie."

"Euphie..."

"Wait just a second here." Kallen stops our moment. "You were visiting her? Why?"

"Well... she invited me, so..."

"You never told me this!"

"You see Kallen... I don't exactly need to tell you every place that I go, so..."

"You are the biggest jerk in this world!" She says getting away from me, angry for some reason.

"Lucian... sometimes even you can't notice everything." Euphemia says.

What have I done wrong? Why did she reacted that way? I won't ever understand women. Besides that, there's still one problem...

"How did you ended up here?"

"I've got out to save Suzaku and stops my brother from..." She seems to remember something. "Where is he? He was with you when..."

"I'm here." Idiot! Don't show yourself! "I'm fine, Euphie."

"Thanks God! I was so worried!" She goes and hugs Suzaku. "Wait, you know about Lucian's..."

"I discovered yesterday."

"How did you discovered it?" Kallen looks at him, still angry at me, for some reason.

"I..." I was about to tell Kallen, but Suzaku intervened.

"I found him in a beach, unconscious. After he wakes up, we had a conversation and he revealed everything."

"Oh really? Then you know that we can't let you tell this to Britannia, right?" Kallen says.

"We promise to don't tell anyone! His secret is safe."

"Why should we trust Britannians like you two?"

"Stop! Listen, we can decide this later, so let's just find a way to get out of this island, then we can discuss this."

We all agree on that and we start to walk, with the girls walking ahead of us. I look at Suzaku, wondering about his difficult task: telling Euphemia about his decision.

"You need to tell her before you actually defects Britannia."

"I know, but..."

"She might get hurt even more if you just abandon her."

"I will, okay? Let's just give it some time. Besides this, why show your face to her? Are you stupid?"

"What was I supposed to do? She already knew, virtually."

"What are you going to do now to make sure that she doesn't tell anyone? Use Geass?"

"I prefer to don't use such a thing, so I'll trust her, for now."

"Are you sure? This might get ugly."

"You don't trust her?"

"I do, but we need to be careful, if someone discovers about it..."

"I know, believe me, I know."

_**C.C**_

"Enemy battleship has passed us."

Relieved sounds can be heard in the cafeteria of the submarine as that airship pass upon us. We are hidden inside here, waiting for anything related to Lucian, but until now, nothing. He disappeared after that beam was shot, just like that girl, Kallen, and now all they want to do is wait.

"We can't afford to stay here any longer, the risk is to high. We must get out of here fast."

"What are you talking about, Tohdoh? Zero is still out there. We can't just leave him behind." Katase replies to him.

"He has a point." Ohgi says, but his support doesn't mean so much, since he always agrees with the one who spoke. I wonder why Lucian choose him as Deputy Commander.

"Sorry, but we can't send a search group in this situation, is too risky."

"I agree with the General: without Zero, we are nothing more than a bunch of soldiers." Diethard speaks, defending Zero like always. He probably has a picture of Lucian as Zero in the bathroom, to make the service himself.

"There's no guarantee that he's still alive and one wrong step and we are all done."

"We are done without Zero, he is the Black Knights."

"Typical of a Britannian to prioritize one person above everyone else." The woman from Tohdoh's group speaks now.

"Answer me then: How do you think that we have so many ideologies and different persons inside here? Who do you think that keeps them all together? You and your little group of soldiers?"

"How dare you say this, Britannian?" The Scarface with blue hair speaks, getting up from his table.

"Stop! This isn't getting us nowhere near solving the problem at hand." Katase gets up.

"Listen, we are all tense, so I propose this: Let's wait untill tomorrow's night and hope that Zero makes contact. If he doesn't, then we leave, okay?" Ohgi says, surprising me with the fact that he said something besides agreements. I decide to share a piece of information.

"Okay, I'll tell you all: he's alive."

"We don't have time for your thoughts."

"It's the truth, however."

"Oh shut up! You should stop saying stupid nonsense and train to use a Knightmare." That annoying guy with the goatee speaks to me.

"And you are in the same level to talk to me like that?"

"No one wants to hear the words of Zero's lover, so get out of here!"

"At least Zero trust me with simple tasks, right?"

"You've a lot of nerve to talk to your superior like that!" He says getting up with anger in his eyes.

"You know that, if I talk to Zero, your body will only be found when I allow?"

"Stop this now! Listen, C.C, we appreciate your concern, but we can't trust any information without some kind of base to it. I must ask you to leave, before something nasty happens."

"At least there's some real men around here." I say while I get out, leaving them all there, discussing unimportant matters.

I wonder if it was fate that choose that island to Lucian be, but I think that there's probably a reason for that. I remember about her as I enter Lucian's chamber, thinking that she must had predicted all this, to the very end. I just hope that she is right, because if she isn't, the whole world will pay for it.

"You placed a very high gamble on him, Lucretia."

_**Kallen**_

"Finally a good meal! You don't know how much I was waiting for this."

I am happy that I just ate something that really fills the stomach: some fish made in the embers and some kind of mollusk coked right on the shell. Lucian is quite the cooker, so this was a real feast.

"I must agree! I never ate something like this." Euphemia says with a smile and some fish around her mouth.

"Again, we were lucky to have those herbs and those fruits." Lucian tries to make it sounds more easy than it was, unsuccessfully.

"Just shut up, no one that I know would make such a meal with so little ingredients."

We walked for the whole day, but we hadn't found anyone in this island, so we made a camp in some beach to pass the night. We had a moment when I almost saw Lucian and Suzaku without any clothes, when they where getting the fishes (with their hands!), but I didn't got a glimpse, not that I wanted or anything.

After the meal we all lie down and we get to sleep, or at least that's what I thought. In the middle of the night, I wake up and start to hear Suzaku and Lucian talking.

"Dawn Suzaku! You nee to tell her."

"It's harder than it looks. I just lose my speech when I see her eyes."

"Are you really sure about your decision? If you want..."

"No! I am completely sure about this, but the thinking of her alone with Lelouch..."

"I know the demon pretty well, so I share your concerns, but I doubt that Marianne would left he hurts her so much."

"I hope not."

"I care about her, after all, she is my sister."

What? What does he means with 'sister'? Can it be true, that Lucian is a prince? No, of course not, this is just... However, this might explain why he is similar to Lelouch or maybe... but if this is true, why would no one ever heard about him?

"I know... aside from that, that thing you told me earlier, about C.C..."

"Believe me, it's completely true."

"If I do this... contract I will receive the same blessing?"

"Probably, but are you really sure about this? After you accept this contract, there's no way out."

"I'm sure."

"Fine, I'll convince her, somehow. Let's just go to sleep for now, okay?"

They lie down, leaving me with a lot of doubts: what was Suzaku's decision? Could be truth that Lucian is a prince? What is this 'contract' that would gives Suzaku a blessing? Most important, why would Lucian helps Suzaku in getting more powerful?

Doubts grow inside of my mind, making me question why Lucian is doing all this. Could it be that he plans to sell the Black Knights? Or he has other plans in mind?

"Wait, there's light over there!" Suzaku gets up and points to somewhere a little far from where we are.

* * *

"Are you two sure about those lights?" Euphemia says, trying to not fall while we climb a little cliff.

"I'm positive about this. Once we discover who they are, we might be able to deal with any situation."

I look at Suzaku and Lucian, still thinking about what I heard last night. Lucian treats her very gently, even more than the usual for a girl that he just talks once in a while. Also, I have always notice the air around him, the air of a general, I was thinking, but now I see it more like a King.

"Listen... if it is a search party, our time together will end, right?"

"Yes... but I enjoyed this time, Euphie." Lucian says, but he gives an inquiring look at Suzaku when she isn't looking.

"Euphie... I need to tell you something."

"What is it, Suzaku?" Could be that 'decision' of him?

"I... don't know how to say this... but I must ask you something first."

"What is it?"

"Please, forgive me for any harm that I might cause to you in the future."

"Suzaku, what are you...?"

We arrive at the top at the hill, right into a piece of floor that looks manmade. Lucian looks away from them, signing that I should do the same.

"Euphie... I can no longer be your Knight."

"What? But why?"

"I dishonored you when I disobeyed orders. I can't allow this any longer."

"I don't care about that! I..."

"There's also my other decision." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "I'm joining the Black Knights."

Wait, what the hell? That's the decision? How could Lucian convince him?

"Suzaku, what kind of..."

"Before I'm loyal to you, I must be loyal to other person. I'm so sorry about this."

Before she can answers, a strange symbol appears in the floor and it starts to shake.

_**Lucian**_

I can fell an acute pain in my left eye, making me go on my knees. Suzaku looks at me worried and that's when the floor starts to fall and I fell it falling. I put on my mask, as a reflex and we stop falling, only to see a large opened space, like ruins of some sort.

_**Suzaku**_

"It's Zero! What in hell...?"

" , what are you doing here?"

"Shoot at them!"

"Stop! You will end up getting the Princess! Capture them now!"

There are soldiers going in our direction from a ladder and I can fell Euphie... no, Euphemia holding my arm, like she wants to doesn't let me go. It is time to decide for real, but I already know what I should do.

"Zero, a Knightmare!" Kallen says to Zero as she kicks one of the soldiers and gets his gun.

"Perfect, that's our way out." He says, going to the Knightmare, but he looks at me, to make sure that I am going to follow him.

"I'm sorry, Euphemia." I let her arm go and, without looking back, I run for the Knightmare.

"It has space for two people inside."

"Kururugi, grab Zero now!" Someone yells at me, but I am no longer a Britannian soldier, but a member of the Black Knights.

"It has power?" I ask Lucian while I enter the cockpit with him."

"Yes, so let's grab Kallen and get the hell out of here."

We grab Kallen and we start to move to the exit, but there are Sutherlands trying to stop us. Lucian tries to use the guns mounted on the shoulders, but that thing just go to all sides, starting to destroy the ruins and it takes the enemies out of our way.

"Shit, more enemies!"

"Don't worry, there's a system that seems to be complete, I hope."

He press a button and we start to leave the floor and I can't believe that we are now flying! A Knightmare that can fly? That is really new.

* * *

Lucian contacts the Black Knights and we arrive at their submarine, which makes me even more impressed about it at all. Lucian created an army out of nowhere and now they are a real power, something that any general would be proud.

"Ready to face them?" He looks at me, before putting his mask on.

"Yes."

We both get out and I can see the surprised faces of the members when they see me with Zero. The second I hit the floor, there are guns pointed at me, but Lucian gets in the way.

"Don't worry, he is our comrade now."

"What? What exactly do you mean by that?" A man with red hair and a goatee says in a rude manner.

"Suzaku Kururugi has joined us, so I want you all to treat him like a real comrade, understand?"

There are a lot of unpleased faces among them, which was expected. If I want to make them believe me, I will have to prove myself to them, a task that won't be that easy.

"Well... if you say so, Zero." A young man goes ahead and shows a smile. "I'm Kaname Ohgi, Deputy Commander of the Black Knights."

"I-I'm honored, sir." I say while I get my head down, in respect.

"Hey, no need for this formality." He says, getting a little red. "You can just call me Ohgi, alright?"

"Y-yes!"

"Ohgi, please give me a report of anything that happened during my absence. Also get some clean clothes for all of us and a somewhere for Suzaku as well."

"Yes sir!"

Lucian starts to give orders to some people, making me impressed of how they obey him. They respect him as a capable leader, which he really is. The only ones left are Tohdoh, the old leader of the JLF, General Katase, and Kallen.

"Zero, I'll check the Guren, okay?"

"Yes, go on ahead."

"Kururugi, what's the reason for your decision of joining us?"

"Zero changed my mind."

"Is that so? You looked quite convinced about your way of thinking when I was rescued." Tohdoh says.

"Like I said, Zero opened my eyes."

"Is that so? Well, then I welcome you. Which will be his position?"

"I have to decide this yet."

"If you say so. See you soon, Zero." They both leave, leaving me and Lucian alone.

"It's going to be hard to gain their full trust." I say.

"I know that. Come, let's go to my quarters to wash our bodies and change those clothes."

* * *

I get out of the shower, feeling relieved by the hot water, but I still think in Euphemia and her face when I left her in the island. I really hope that she doesn't tell anyone about Lucian, but I can't stop the feeling that Lucian should have used Geass to make her forget his face.

"So now you are our ally?" Someone says behind me and I see that woman, C.C.

"Yes... does Lucian told you?"

"That you know about Geass? Yes he did, actually."

"Aren't you angry with him?"

"No."

"That's just it?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry about her." Lucian appears, using his normal Zero's clothes and carrying some in his hands. "He is like that all the time. Here are some clothes for you, but..."

"They are Black Knights uniforms. I guess that I should at least see how I look in one."

I put it on, but it looks a little wrong on me, but it isn't that bad at all. I look at myself from a lot of angles, wondering how everyone in the academy would react when the news are released.

"I can't go back to the academy."

"No, you can't."

"What am I going to do in the Black Knights?"

"You will be the second in command of the Zero Guard."

"Under Kallen, right?"

"Yes. But first, we need to take care of some things." He looks at C.C and she gets up. "She will explain the nature of the... contract to you."

"First, are you sure about this? Once you start it, you can't give up."

"In order to help Lucian achieve his goals, I'll do anything."

"Very well then. Come here and you'll receive the power."

_**Cecile**_

"Lloyd, why would you put the Flying System in the Lancelot?"

"Just bored since our test device is gone."

"Don't say it about him! He is a human being."

"Unfortunately, the high command doesn't seems to be thinking that, since they will give him the perpetual prison him right after his capture. It was supposed to be a death penalty, but our viceroy is far too gentle."

I look away from him, knowing the truth in his harsh words and sad about what Suzaku did. Why would he defect Britannia for the Black Knights? He always said that he wanted to change the current system from the inside, but now...

"Where do you think that he is now?"

"No idea, but I guess that he might be with Zero, otherwise someone would have found him by now. It's been a day, but you still hadn't accepted the fact that he is gone.

"I..." In that moment I hear a strange sound, making both of us to look at the door of the hangar where we keep the Lancelot. At that second, a bunch of men wearing the Black Knights uniform appear, with Zero leading them.

"Zero! How did you passed the security?" Lloyd says with a bit of a smile (don't ask me how).

"It was quite easy, but you don't need to worry, we just came for one thing: the Lancelot."

"Where's Suzaku? What have you done to him?" I say, looking right at that man.

"Hum? He is fine, so you don't need to worry about him."

"I know that you made something to force him to be at your side, your bastard!"

"Shows more respect with Zero, your Britannian bitch." One of them gets ready to hit me with his gun and I close my eyes.

"Stop it!" I see a man behind Zero, wearing the same uniform: Suzaku! "I can take care of them."

"Suzaku, you..."

"Cecile, I joined the Black Knights on my own will, so you need to forget about me."

"I..."

"So that's how you managed to get in and discover where the Lancelot is. I expected more of you, Suzaku." Lloyd says.

"Sorry about that." He looks right into my eyes. "Cecile, I really hope that you don't hate me for what I'm about to do."

He puts his hand on my shoulder and presses it, making my eyes get heavy. The last thing that I see is his sad face as I fall to the floor.

_**Marianne**_

We are all in silence as we eat, fully aware about the reason for it: Suzaku, Euphie's knight, has defected to the Black Knights. She is sitting there, barely eating her food, with a face filled with sorrow, but no one can find what to say to her.

I was supposed to give him the capital penalty, but I hadn't agreed with that. I know that Suzaku is a good person, so only a very strong motive would make him defect in that way.

"Good night, my dear mother and sisters." Lelouch appears from the door and I start to get worried as he sits. "I'm in such a good mood today, and you all know why?"

"Lelouch..."

"It's because I was right from the beginning about that Eleven: he ended up a traitor and that's what he will always be one."

"Lelouch! How can you say such a thing?" Cornelia looks at him, angry.

"Well, weren't you saying those things as well, sister? Why had you decided to go against your own words?"

I swear to God that I could slap him now, but there's truth in his words, so I can't say a thing. Lelouch is the only one that seems happy in the table, making me anger with his attitude.

"C'mon Lelouch, stop being mean to your sister." A person that hadn't joined us yet appears: Schneizel el Britannia, 2nd Prince and Prime Minister of Britannia. "You shouldn't say those things and act so happy about this at all."

"And you've just spoiled it, dear brother. I will leave the table, since no one seems to want my company now." He leaves, but his presence only made the atmosphere in the room heavier.

"Good to see you, Schneizel."

"Same here, Lady Marianne." He gets my hand and gives it a kiss. "It's been a long time since our last meeting, so I would like to enjoy this time."

"A real gentleman, as always."

"Euphie, I'm so sorry about what happened. I..."

"It was you? The one who ordered Suzaku to sacrifice himself?"

"Euphie..."

"It was you?"

"I'm afraid that the answer is yes."

"Why? He was my knight! You don't have this right!"

"You have to understand, it was the best..."

"I don't care about it! Because of this, Suzaku is with the Black Knights and he might die! All because of you!" She leaves the room with fury in her eyes, crying.

Schneizel looks at the floor with an unusual sad face, but I don't exactly know what to say in this kind of situation. A military officer enters the room in a hurry with a worried face.

"Your Highness! I bring bad news!"

"What happened?"

"Enemy troops have destroyed the Great Kamon Bridge in Kyushu block!"

"What?" I can hear this word being said by three mouths: mine, Cornelia and Schneizel.

"They've also destroyed four other land routes and a large assault force is moving from the Genkai sea!"

"The Chinese Federation? They have declared war against us?"

"No, you Highness, the ships are bearing the flag of Japan!"


	20. Stage 20: Battle at Fukuoka

**Stage 20:**

**Battle at Fukuoka**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"We hereby declare the recreation of Japan as a legitimate independent and sovereign nation!"

"Atsuchi Sawasaki, leader of the group that has invaded Fukuoka base, was Chief Cabinet Secretary in the old Japanese territory during the Kururugi administration. After the war, he fled to the Chinese Federation and he seems to have choose this moment for the attack due to the civil unrest caused by Zero and his Black Knights. Whether the Black Knights are involved or not on the attack, it is necessary more investigation..."

"We are not part of it!" Tamaki says with an angry face.

"What does Kyoto says about this attack?" Ohgi asks the one that I think that is called Diethard.

"They've got caught without notice as well. Sawasaki is acting on his own, with the help of the Chinese Federation."

The core members of the Black Knights are in the main room watching the news about the sudden attack in Kyushu. I'm among them, since I am the only member of the Zero Guard besides Kallen, but there are a few of them that still look at me with some cautious, even after the capture of the Lancelot.

"Zero, what will be our move?" Kallen asks him.

"First, we need to discover Sawasaki real intentions and, according to the situation that is presented to us, I can choose a course of action."

"What do you mean?"

"We still don't know if he is really going to free Japan, or he has another reason for it. For now, let's wait before making any movement."

"If you say so." Tohdoh agrees with Zero.

Zero tell everyone to go take care of their business, but he tell me to follow him to his own office. We enter there and he puts off his mask, revealing the face of my brother and the reason why I joined the Black Knights.

"So, how are they treating you in the Order?"

"Most people are very kind to me, helping me with my adaptation, but there's some of them that see me as a spy of some short."

"They don't know what we know, so don't worry about this."

"Okay then... hey, where's C.C? I haven't seen her for a while now."

"Me too. Don't worry, she is probably eating pizza somewhere. That remembers me, how is your... adaptation to your new ability?"

"I think that I'm getting used to it by now, but the limitation bothers me a little."

"You'll get used to it, believe me. Aside from that, did you saw your new Lancelot?"

"What do you mean by 'new'?"

"Come here."

We get outside the room and we go directly to the hangar where the Knightmares are stored. When I enter it, I see my Lancelot there, but it was repainted: instead of the white and gold, now it is black and blue and it has the Wing System that Lloyd put on it.

"Coming to see the new toy?" That woman, Rakshata appears from somewhere in the hangar. "The boys have just finished with him."

"Something was changed besides the painting?"

"I've added something to that VARIS Rifle of yours: now it can fire Radiation Wave like shots, in addition to the two that it already had. I also placed the same stealth system from the Gefjun Disturber on it."

"I appreciate it."

"The only thing that upsets me is that Wing System."

"It's incomplete?"

"No, it's perfect, that's the reason."

"Hum?"

"I'm upset that the Earl Pudding finished it before me."

"Who?"

"Lloyd, your old boss."

"I see..."

I continue to look at it, seeing how strange is to see it like that. This is the final proof that I am a Black Knight for real, so I must fight with all my might against Britannia, all in order to help Lucian.

"Rakshata, what about my new frame?"

"It's there." She uses her smoking pipe to point at the Knightmare that we stole from Britannia to escape. "The Gawain."

It is far higher than any normal Knightmare and has two seats for pilots, one to operate weapons and one for piloting. It also has a giant MVS in his back, but that sword has a purple color, different from the normal red.

"It's really necessary that two people pilot it?" Zero asks her.

"Of course not. A pilot like you could handle that little boy pretty well on your own."

"And why is that sword purple?"

"It's a prototype weapon, a more powerful version of those from the Lancelot. It's called Calesvol."

"The old Celtic name for the Excalibur. That must be a really powerful weapon, to have such a name."

"It has a lot more power than the normal swords. Even those in the Lancelot can't match that baby."

While Lucian and Rakshata discuss about the parameters of the Gawain, I look around the hangar and I see the other prized Knightmares from the Order: the Gekkas of the Four Holy Swords, Tohdoh's personalized Gekka and the main star: the Guren MK-II, Kallen's personal frame.

"Oh, hi Suzaku. What are you doing here?"

I look at the opened cockpit and I see Kallen there, probably adjusting her Guren. I go towards her, smiling.

"Just looking around and enjoying the new Lancelot. What are you doing?"

"Seeing how the Guren is being treated, since that thing shot at us during your kidnap attempt."

"It's fine?"

"Yes, it has actually. No damage sustained, very different from Zero's old Knightmare."

"That blue one, right? It was a really good model."

"It's a shame that Zero is going to replace it for the Gawain."

"Well, the leader should have the best Knightmare available, right?"

"Yes, but I am a little sad for the replacement anyway. And you? What do you think about the modifications of the Lancelot?"

"I hadn't the chance to see it for myself."

"Don't worry, around here there's always a chance."

"Yes Captain."

"Please, don't call me that, alright? Just Kallen is fine."

It's a little odd to see her like that, so lively and happy, but I prefer her like that instead of that fragile Kallen. Thinking about this gives me a sad face.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't go back to school now, after my defection."

"Sorry about that, but you can make new friends here, right?"

"If some of the stop looking at me with those suspicious faces."

"They gave it to Diethard at the beginning, but he proved himself to be worthy. I know that you will prove yourself as well."

"I hope."

_**Marianne**_

There's a storm going on, which is preventing us to use our air force to attack the invading forces. The visibility is also limited and there are mines in the water, so we can't use our Portmen to attack as well. Schneizel is in Tokyo, taking care of the domestic and diplomatic business as I lead the battle, but we hadn't any luck so far.

"This is problematic."

"Lady Marianne, if you wish, I can lead the assault by land myself."

"We can't even get near the land with that storm, but if we don't strike fast, the enemy will be stabilized when we finally hit the base, making it harder to take from its hands."

"There aren't any other way? Maybe if we try to use long range missiles?"

"With all that wind and rain, the sensors aren't responding so well. Besides, we can't really destroy our own base in the process."

"I see."

I look at the storm, wondering how tricky God can be sometimes and how men is useless facing the power of nature. There is no way around this problem, so all I can do is to wait until the weather gets better and lose a lot more troops.

_**Schneizel**_

"Martial law is not necessary, such a thing will only upset people. Contact E.U Foreign Minister Gandolphi and, before I forget, contact Tromo Institute in Cambodia."

While Lady Marianne is away, I am taking car of domestic affairs, since there's no one else here that can do it besides me. Of course, there is Lelouch, but his mother didn't liked the idea of giving him power to do as he pleases, so I offered myself to do it.

"Prime Minister." The door opens and I see Euphie there, so I open a rare smile to her.

"What can I do for you? If it is about your knight, I..."

"Not exactly, but I want to apologize about my manners with you last night."

"Apologies accepted, but there is any other thing?"

"There's anything that I can do to help? After all, I'm also a member of royalty."

"Thanks, but your help isn't necessary. Just your willingness is enough for me."

"But..."

"Listen, why don't you stay with Nunnaly? The poor girl is feeling very lonely in the past days, according to her, so you should spent some time with her. Why don't you two go to the Clovis Art Museum to spent some time together?"

"I..."

"I know that you want to help, believe me, but Marianne can't take any chance here and even a slight mistake can cost a lot of lives. Sorry to say it, but you don't have the abilities to handle with such a stressful situation."

"Okay, brother..."

She leaves the room with a sad face, leaving me with a heavy hearth for saying those things to her. She is passing for a lot of tough situations, especially with Lelouch. It pains me to see him like that, so different from the happy boy that he used to be in his childhood. I continue to talk with the men in the room, but with my thoughts in the distant past.

_**Milly**_

"It's so sad that the school festival might be canceled after all our hard work." I say, a little bit depressed.

"Considering that we are at war, this might explain it."

"War?" Nina looks at Rivalz with a scared face.

"They are using the excuse of a exiled government, but this is a war with the Chinese Federation."

"Nina, what about the outdoor booths that we borrowed from the art museum?"

"I'm going there today. I also would like to visit the science department, if I could."

"Are you talking about Lloyd's present?"

"LLOYD? What are you talking about?" Rivalz says, exasperated.

"The professor asked if I had anything that I wished for."

"This isn't of your concern, so keep working Rivalz."

"Easy for you to say! This is work for three people!"

"We can't do much about it: Kallen is sick again and Suzaku has joined the Black Knights."

"And Lucian? Where's that guy?"

"His brother joined the Black Knights, so I decided to give him some time to cool his head."

"Only him has privileges."

"He lost his girlfriend some weeks ago and now he lost his brother to a terrorist organization, so he might need some time, don't you think?"

After that, he goes on a silence, but I know that he understood what I said: Lucian has suffered a great loss before and now Suzaku defects the Army. Lucian really needs a free time to put his ideas in order, so I did all that I could to help him without showing my true feelings to him.

_**Euphemia**_

What can I do? Suzaku has abandoned me for some reason and now everyone feels pity or arrogance towards me for his defection to the 'enemy'. I haven't told anyone about Zero's identity, Lucian, the one that I think more than just a friend, more like as a brother, even with the little time we spent together.

Nunnaly is unhappy with Suzaku as well, but she is trying her best to make me laugh and smile like I used, but there is no hope for now. I look at Clovis's portrayal, thinking how could the kind Lucian be the one who shot him, ending his life. I don't hate him for doing it, however, all that I want is to save him from getting himself even more covered in blood, before he drowns.

I wish that I could have the same power as Marianne, or Cornelia or Schneizel, but I am just me, a burden to everyone else. If I don't do anything, Suzaku and Lucian might end up dead, with me unable to help them.

* * *

I am getting out of the museum with Nunnaly at my side, still depressed by my useless. The limousine suddenly stops and I see that a girl appeared in front of the car and the military are holding her. When I see her, I remember: the girl from the hotel, the one that I saved from the JLF.

"Stop it!" I get out of the car. "That girl is a personal friend of mine."

_**Kallen**_

"So... you are saying?" Tamaki looks at Zero with a confused face.

"We are not going to help Sawasaki in his attempt to take Japan. He isn't independent, but just a puppet of the Chinese Federation."

"But he claims to fight for Japan."

"We get a new master and a new name, but nothing really changes. We can't accept this fake 'Japan' that he proposes."

"So what are we going to do? Just ignore both Britannia and Sawasaki?"

"Zero, I think that you should clarify what is our purpose." Diethard says.

"Simple enough: We'll make Japan an independent nation on our own."

Surprised voices come from the leaders and captains gathered here as he utters those words. Us, a nation? Could it really be true? Can really Zero create such a thing?

I am still suspicious about that woman, C.C, and I still wonder about his relationship with Lucian. I never saw her before I entered the Black Knights, but I also never paid attention to Lucian before I discovered about our past together. I still want to know more about him...

"Wait a second Zero! No matter how big the Black Knights are now, we can't just face Britannia!" Ohgi says to him.

"Our enemy is an Empire that controls one third of the world."

"Answer me then! Are you going to just sit back and wait while someone else defeats Britannia? Don't be naive! If we don't move for ourselves, that day wont come!"

Zero has a great way with words, so now where was doubt, it is certain that fill the faces of everyone. Zero dismiss us to get ready for the battle that will comes.

"Everyone will stand back as my support in the submarine."

"It's too dangerous Zero! You can't go out there alone!" Katase says to him.

"It's impossible to hit them by sea or by land, so we have to use the last resource that we have: the air."

"Going out there alone is suicide! Even for a person like you!" Tohdoh says to him with a serious face.

"Who said that I am going there alone?"

_**Marianne**_

"So, the weather has finally cleared enough for a strike."

"Yes, my lady, but the enemy seems to have fortified their position by now."

"That was expected. We'll send the ships to deploy the land troops while the Navy try to make an opening for a direct landing on the base. The Air Force will give air support to the rest of them. I will lead the head of the ground forces while General Darlton leads the rear line to make sure that we won't get caught from behind."

"Yes, you Highness!"

"Commence operation!"

_**Euphemia**_

"That time... when you saved me from those Elevens... I won't ever forget it. You looked like some kind of goddess"

"Euphie is really amazing!" Nunnaly agrees with Nina

That girl, Nina, is wearing some clothes that I lent to her to replace her own while they are washed. I give her a sad smile while I look at the fire of the fireplace.

"I'm not that amazing as you think. I'm nothing compared to my other sisters and brothers."

"That's not true!" I look at her. "How can you say this about yourself? I'm the one who isn't special at all. My parents are ordinary, I'm not even pretty like some girl."

"You are wrong, Nina. I find you really sweet."

"No, not at all. I'm nothing like you or most girls. I can't even stay near Elevens without being uneasy, but I think that Suzaku is a exception... Oh..." She covers her mouth with her hands. "I'm sorry about talking of him out of nowhere."

"It's okay."

"I don't really understand him. How could he rejects his role as your Knight like that? I wish that I could be on his place."

"Why?"

"Because... I need you more than anything."

I am surprised to hear those words being said with such will put on them. I never thought that someone might think of me that way, besides Nunnaly, so her words give comfort to my hearth. After she talks about Suzaku, I remember his face in the last time I saw him and I noticed: he needs me as well, but he has something else to fight for, besides me.

"Thanks Nina. You really helped me now."

* * *

I enter the office that Schneizel is using while he administrates the Area with a decided face. He was watching some kind of video in the monitor, but he gets up his eyes from it for a second, not changing his serious face."

"What happened Euphie?"

"I need to talk with you about something serious."

"This is quite a coincidence, because I need to do it as well."

"Why?"

He shows the screen to me and I understand what he meant by those words.

_**Marianne**_

The assault isn't going so well as we continue on it. The aircraft batteries are destroying all our attempts to attack from the air and the Portman from the Navy weren't successful in their attempt to create a breach, so now all that we have are the ground units, but we are being decimated.

The main unit of the enemy is the Gun-Ru, the main unit from the Federation, but what they lack in quality, they have in numbers. Each unit destroyed seems to be replaced by another two, making it hard to even fight back or move.

"Is Lady Marianne leading the troops?" Someone is calling from an open channel. "Here is Sawasaki wanting to talk to her."

"Sorry, I'm a little bit busy right now, so let's talk when I get you under arrest, okay?"

"Arrogant as any Britannian, even in the worst situation. If you give up now, you'll be well treated by us."

"Sorry, but I prefer to lose my life."

"As expected from the old Knight of Two."

I am almost without energy and I have lost my right arm and my lance, so I am fighting with my assault rifle, that is getting depleted of bullets. Cornelia is far away from me, just like any other unit. My energy filler gets to zero and my Gloucester stops moving, leaving me open for a direct attack.

"Any last words?"

"I would like to send you to somewhere, but I am an Empress, so I can't say it."

"Good bye then."

I close my eyes as the Gun-Rus make a circle around me and I hear some kind of strange noise, but it isn't the sound of bullets. Opening my eyes I see the enemies being destroyed by someone from the air and I see a new model of Knightmare there, with a weapon coming out of its shoulders.

"Good night, Lady Marianne."

"Zero? What are you doing here?"

"Sawasaki isn't my ally, but my enemy, so what about I help you against him and I destroy their base?"

"That's suicide! A sole man can't..."

"Look at who is fighting the enemy now."

I look at the enemies and I see another black Knightmare there, fighting against Sawasaki's troops, but it takes some time for me to recognize it: the Lancelot!

_**Suzaku**_

The new VARIS Rifle function is amazing! It has almost the same effect of the Guren MK-II Radiation Wave, but in a reduced strength. Either way it turns the enemies into a blob of hot metal before they explodes, so it is really useful for me.

Lucian and I used the stealth system of our Knightmares to pass unnoticed into the enemies lines, so they hadn't noticed us before we stroked their forces.

"Is the son of Genbu Kururugi piloting that unit?" Sawasaki makes contact with an open channel.

"This doesn't matter in this moment."

"So you are him, indeed. He would be so ashamed that his son is fighting against Japan's freedom."

"To the contrary, I'm fighting exactly for it."

"So why do you...?"

"What you want isn't freedom, but to be a puppet for the Federation!"

"How dare you? I was waiting for the right moment to strike before..."

"You've just left our country when it needed you the most. I won't accomplish you as a leader!"

"So die just like your father."

"Suzaku, let's go inside the base and get him." Lucian tells me from the radio.

"Roger."

We enter the base passing avoiding enemy's missiles and we are now inside it, so we unleash hell over them: Lucian get his Calesvol and slice five Gun-Rus at the same time. The power of that thing really is far greater than from my own swords and it can even slice the toughest armor with ease. I am really lucky that I am on his side now.

For a Knightmare that is supposed to be piloted by two people, Lucian handles it very well. It is a sixth generation Knightmare, so it is inferior to the Lancelot in some specs, but anyone would have a hard fight against it.

The Hadrons Cannon was perfect by Rakshata, so now they fire on a straight line, being even more destructive as before. Even with just two people, we are winning this fight against the Gun-Rus

We approach the H.Q of the enemy and Lucian starts to open a hole in the inner wall of the fortress. That's when Sawasaki tries to make contact from the open channel.

"Zero, don't you fight for Japan? We should be comrades!"

"We fight against anyone who is practice injustice, specially those who hide their true motives of domination with a pathetic excuse of freeing a country."

"Your fool!" He cuts the communication.

"Let's finish this, oni-san." Lucian says to me.

"Yes sir!"

The important part here isn't the victory, but the message that we are going to send: that the Black Knights stand for the sake of Japan and not for the interests of some other country. This won't be published officially, but everyone will hear the rumors and we will be even more popular and powerful as before.

We find Sawasaki trying to flee in a chopper, but I destroy it with one of my Slash Harkens and Lucian points his sword to he and that Chinese general that I forgot the name.

"Sawasaki, this is the farthest that you go." Lucian says to him.

"Impossible! They took the largest fortress in Kyushu without any effort!"

"This is the power of the Black Knights for you." I get out of the Lancelot to grab them, but it seems that the general has a pistol under his sleeve.

He points it at me and fire, but I feel the power going into my left eye as a bird sigil appears on it and the red is turned to purple. The bullet hits my chest, but it is just like it hit a wall and it goes to the floor.

Before they can react, I run towards them and I take his gun out of his hand and I surrender him. My Geass is really useful: the Geass of 'Absolute Defense', a Geass that makes impossible to hurt me in any way when I activate it, but it only gets activated for fifteen seconds before it wears off, so I must use it with care. It also has to 'recharge' for thirty seconds before I can use it.

With this, my life might get a lot easier for now on and I can help Lucian in a lot of other ways. For now on, I must be Lucian's shiel and Kallen will be his sword, so nothing can stop our advance.

_**Euphemia**_

"Looks like they captured Sawasaki with the help of the Gawain and the Lancelot."

"Thanks Goodness that Suzaku is alright."

"I have to admit that this was amazing: two men taking a whole enemy stronghold? I have to give Zero some credits."

I am relieved that Suzaku is fine now, as well as Lucian, so now I must concentrate in the task ahead of me. I tell Schneizel my idea and he seems to agree with it.

"All you need is the permission from the viceroy of Area 11."

"Do you really thinks that she won't say 'yes'?"

"No, I think that she'll agree with you."

I am happy about his words, so I get out, thinking of how I am going to ask her about it. If she agrees, I will be able to save Suzaku and Lucian from their paths and we can all be together.

_**Suzaku**_

Everyone is cheering us as we get inside the hangar where we keep our Knightmares. I am smiling to them as I notice that those suspicious looks are gone and they praise my achievement with Lucian. Kallen appears and hugs me with joy, saying that I was amazing, just like Zero.

"Suzaku... I want to give you something." She says to me and, I don't know why, everyone gets quiet.

"What it is?"

"Here." She handles to me something that I recognize: a red bandana similar to the one she wears. "It's a gift to show you that we all see you as our comrade now."

I smile to all of them, with tears getting out of my eyes. I clean them up and I put the bandana around my head and everyone praises me. They get me up and carry me for the hangar, commemorating another victory of the Black Knights. I look at Lucian and he signs for me to go and enjoy.

I never felt this kind of feeling in the Army before: the feeling of having comrades praising your skills and their joy for you coming back alive. Now I am a member of the Black Knights for real, so I will fight with them with all my might, until the day I can finally achieve Lucian's dream: a world of true justice.


	21. Stage 21: Declaration of Peace

**Stage 21:**

**Declaration of Peace**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"It's true that Area 11 was attacked by the Chinese Federation and all the problems involving the Black Knights, but it is also true that you've been missing a lot of classes, far more than the normal for you. If you don't improve, you'll repeat this year!"

God, how much I hate this! Because of my little attendance due to all the Black Knights business, I have to watch reinforcement classes to improve my attendance. Suzaku would probably be with me if he isn't a wanted criminal, so he must be with the Black Knights all the time. Even Kallen doesn't has to do those things, because of her 'medical problems'.

I sigh as the teacher goes on with her speech and I remember that the opinions of the Black Knights are really good among the ghettos. It seems that Diethard did an spectacular job in spreading the rumors about our participation in Fukuoka. Now there are just some little issues of minor importance and we can finally strike Marianne.

But there is something that I must deal with before I can take over the power: The school festival and the Blue Moon Ball. If I lose any of them, Marianne, Cornelia and even Schneizel will be the last of my worries as Milly might get really angry with me. I only saw her angry for real once, and I want to forget that moment forever.

_**Ohgi**_

"So the opinions on the ghettos are favorable to us?" I ask Minami.

"That's right, but I bet that they will be shocked when they discover about Zero's plans of creating a whole new nation."

"I know, this is totally crazy!"

The old members of my resistance group are gathered now around the Knightmares of the Black Knights. We are discussing what Zero told us before, the plan to create a new nation in the place of Japan. I wonder if that is the right thing to do...

"I agree with Zero." Tamaki says, surprising everyone.

"What?"

"If we continue to follow his lead, we might be able to not just free Japan, but also create a better world, just like he said. Maybe I can achieve my dream of being a bureaucrat."

"You?" Kallen looks at him, surprised.

"Even I had a dream once. If I hadn't stayed with the Black Knights, I would be into Refrain by now."

Refrain might solve my problem... no, it is too risky to do such a thing with... her. I want to know what she knows about Zero, but I can't force her to remember.

The day after the Battle at the Port Yokusuka I went there to think a little when I found a woman bleeding and saying only one word in her unconsciousness: 'Zero'. Wondering if she knew about who he really is, I took her home and I treated her wounds.

When she had awakened that night, I was holding a pistol and I went to interrogate her, but she lost her memories from before being shot. I have got depressed for doing that, betraying Zero and thinking about forcing answers from a woman like her.

I put cameras in my apartment to keep an eye on her and make sure that she doesn't escape, but after some time I started to do it to keep her safe. She makes bentos to me every day and I started to notice tiny details about her: her laugh, her smile...

Maybe she never recovers her memories, but I feel terrible about wanting it, because she is a Britannian and she might leave me if she do. I want to have her at my side all the times, so I will follow Zero and help him to create his nation, just because I want to see her smile everyday. I give her the name Chigusa while she doesn't remember the true one.

"Ohgi, are you still with us in Earth?" Someone interrupts my line of thinking.

"Oh... sorry, what did you said?"

"We need instructions, but we can't contact Zero for now. What should we do?" KAllen tells me.

"Let's just move as planned by him."

"I'm telling you, this is a trap." Tamaki says in his usual manner.

"But we really need Intelligence routes. They also said that someone wants to join us and tomorrow will be the last day to use the route that Diethard planned for us."

"Let's move according to the plan. Changing the subject, who is taking care of those reports from the new recruits?"

"I think that Zero put Suzaku in charge of it?"

"Alone? That was a huge pile of papers, so I wonder how he is going there."

_**Suzaku**_

When I find Lucian, I swear to any God out there that I will kill him! He put me in charge of signing and filling in reports from the new recruits, but with the popularity that we have now, there are a lot of people wanting to join us. Lucian told me to select some of them to be part of the Zero Guard with Kallen and me, but so far any of them has showed sufficient ability.

I wonder why Kallen isn't helping me here, since she is the Captain of the guard and I am the second in command. Sometimes I really think that she could help me with the paperwork, but she says that she already does enough in the Student Council.

Speaking of it, tomorrow is going to be the school festival, but I can't go there because of the fact that every Britannian soldier is looking for me now. I sigh as I sign another paper, feeling that my hand is about to fall, depressed by the fact that I won't see anyone from school for some time...

"How are you around here?" Kallen appears in the room.

"Doing your job."

"Sorry about this... I can help you with some of it."

"Oh, thanks for helping me to do the task that the Captain should be doing, not the second in command."

"You are very ill-tempered today, because the school festival?"

"Yes, I wish that I could go and at least see everyone there."

"Well... maybe you can."

_**Lucian**_

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment that you all have been waiting is starting: The Ashford Academy school festival is officially opened at the sound of this voice!"

"Meow!" I can hear Alice imitating a cat in the phones around the school and everyone claims at this sound.

I am carrying a suitcase filled with different cell phones, one for each team of the festival: food, cleaning, stock, anything that I need to arrange. Milly made me the 'Festival Chairman' of this thing, so I must lead everyone else around here, but thanks to my experience acquired from leading the Black Knights, now I can do it with ease. The best part is that no one lose his lifes if I make a mistake, even a tiny one.

One of the cell phones rings and I answer it fast, since it is the one from the Black Knights. It is Diethard, calling to talk to me about some details of our coup d'état.

"So even Sawasaki proved to be of use to us. Now all that is left for us is to act against Britannia."

"Yes. We've collected all the data on the emergency countermeasures of all sectors of the city. We've also identified the solar panels used on each settlement as well as the associated energy storage sites. What about you collaborators?"

"I've handled most of them myself and about eighty percent of them are done. What about Katase?"

"He's working on a list of occupation targets, like broadcast stations and other buildings, with Tohdoh and the Holy Swords. I need you to check every detail of it, as well as that dummy plan sent to Kyoto."

"Understand, I'll be looking at it tomorrow."

"One last thing: Regarding the operation from the Zero Guard..."

"Trouble! We have a huge trouble now!" Milly appears from the door leading to the rooftop and I tell Diethard that I will talk to him latter. "What are you doing goofing off? There's a lot to do around here!"

"Come on, everything is walking just fine without me. Besides, you are the one taking care of that giant pizza, right?"

"Yep, if we achieve it, it'll be the largest pizza ever made." As she says it, I remember a pizza lover that I know.

"It really got the attention of the media, since they are everywhere."

"We are trying to break a record here, so we need to document it heavily."

"Yeah, you re the one who knows, president."

"How many times do I have to say it? You aren't allowed to call me president, only Milly."

"A lot of times more would be good." She slaps the top of my hand, kidding. "Ough!"

"If you have time to play around, you can check the rest of the festival, right?"

"Yeah, I'll do it now."

"And don't forget that you are going to pilot the Ganimede, alright?"

"Fine."

Doesn't matter how much time passes, Milly will always be Milly. I am sad that Suzaku can't come here to have some fun, but I can't allow him to risky himself for a little piece of fun. I wonder what he is doing right now.

_**Suzaku**_

"This is wrong Kallen! If someone recognizes me here..."

"No one will, I'm sure of it. You are disguised, right?"

That is a way to say it, but I am wearing my normal blue coat and sunglasses, just like a lot of people already saw me with. The two only different things are the bandana that she gave me after Fukuoka and some blue lens that I put on my eyes, but this can't be considered a disguise.

I am entering the school grounds with Kallen, making me feeling a lot worst than I was when I accepted this idea from Kallen. I promised Lucian that I wouldn't come, but I am here now, against his advice.

"Kallen..."

"You just enjoy some free time while I go help with the festival, alright?"

"Hey, what I do if someone discovers who I am?"

"Disappears before they tell anyone." She goes away.

"What kind of answer is this?"

Well... since I am already here, let's at least walk around a little, then I go back to the hideout like I have never left it. Lucian told me that he is the Chairman of the festival, so I have got to say that he is making an impressive work here.

I see a lot of different things to do or eat: from crepes to curry, those machines that you use to see how strong you are, etc. They even made that thing where you have to hammer something when it comes out of a hole...

Cecile! What she is doing around here? Not only her, but a lot of the support guys from Camelot are here now. They must be off duty now, but why did they had to choose this place when I enter here?

And to make my day even more perfect, Cecile looses the hammer and it lands right in Lucian's head, who was sited on a bench attending a cell phone. I need to hide myself before he sees me, otherwise...

"He, do you know where I am supposed to go to eat the biggest pizza in the world?"

"C.C? What are you doing here? You can't be here like that, even the military are here!"

"I could say the same for you. And it seems that someone might scream with us for it."

I look behind and I see Lucian there, with pure fury in his eyes, coming at us. Oh God, now I am screwed for real!

* * *

"What the hell are you both thinking in appearing in this festival like this?"

"I..."

"I only care about the pizza."

"I already told you that I would bring you some. Now get back to your room now!"

"I don't believe you, since you are a liar."

"I won't deceive you because of a pizza, for God's sake! And you! Why did you left the hideout?"

"I..."

"The media AND the military are here and if they spot any of you two, this might get really ugly!"

"I'm sorry..."

"I have a school festival and a coup d'état to plan and organize and things aren't getting any easier for me."

We are inside the stock house where the ingredients for that pizza are being kept and Lucian is really angry with both of us, C.C and me. I didn't told him that Kallen convinced me to come, since I don't want her getting in trouble for it as well.

At that moment, the door opens and we all hide behind some sacks, only to find Kallen entering the place with Ohgi (what?) and a dark skinned Britannian woman (again, what?).

"Why did you come into the school?" Kallen asks Ohgi.

"It was my fault." The woman says to her.

"Who are you anyway? You don't look like an Eleven to me."

"Well... she's my..." Ohgi tries to find words to describe the woman.

"Seriously, I'll end up with an hernia. You two, try to get out of here while I distract them."

"Okay."

"Kallen, only authorized personnel are allowed inside here." He says while he walks to them.

We use that opportunity to slip away from inside it and I get out of there without Kallen and Ohgi seeing me. I am not the problem, but C.C is, since no one should see her around. Speaking of the devil, she disappears once more, making me worried about her, so I decide to look for her to avoid more problems.

_**Euphemia**_

"I'm sorry about this, but I really must speak with a friend about a serious matter."

"It's alright, your Highness."

I am disguised as I enter Lucian's school to look for him, but there is a festival happening here, so I will need to look for him inside. Marianne approved my idea and said that I have her blessing, making me really happy. The only ones that didn't liked it so much were Cornelia and, of course, Lelouch.

That is the only way to help both Suzaku and Lucian and take them from the path of blood, creating piece all around the Area. I hope that he likes the idea of it...

_**Ohgi**_

"Sorry about that earlier."

"Don't worry."

I wish that I don't make Kallen enter into a problem because of me, but that guy looked very polite, saying that we couldn't stay inside there because only the members of the school council could be there. He treated me very well, despite I been an Eleven.

"Hey... I've been wanting to talk to you about this for a while, but shouldn't be better for you to leave Area 11? That way, the person that shot you would never come back."

"You know... I've been wondering if the person that I used to be was as happy as I am now." She looks at my eyes. "Can you tell me what you were going to say, back there? When you started with 'she's my'?"

"You see..."

"I don't think that I would mind becoming an Eleven."

I can't believe that she said something like that to me! A wave of happiness goes inside of me as I continue to look at her and I fell the wind passing from us, a gentle breeze.

_**Euphemia**_

I am standing in front of the room from where Lucian is controlling the festival. I heard people talking about how great this year's festival is because of him, admired by his ability to organize people. I wonder if he learned this from being Zero...

I put my hand on the knob, but I stop when I hear voices inside of the room. One of them is Lucian's, but the other is... Suzaku!

"Let's wait a little longer before you can get out here."

"Sorry causing you trouble, oni-san."

"That's fine. At least you should had got a better disguise, not just put contact lens."

"Yeah..."

Oni-san? Suzaku once told me that this means 'brother' in Japanese, so why... Could it be that they are brothers? But they are nothing like each other! How could this...?

"It's good to relax like that, passing some time with my brother."

"I agree, Lucian. You know... if things with Euphie and me had continued to move... we could end up as brothers-in-law."

"Yeah right, like I would let you be with my sister."

What? What does he means with... Then I understand everything: the reason why he trusted me, the reason why he kept going to visit me...

"Is it true?" I enter the room, making Suzaku to try hiding himself. "You really is..."

"Euphemia? What are you doing..."

"Just answer me! You really is my brother?" I say while tears come down on my face. "Please, tell me the truth!"

"I..." He looks at me with an indecisive face. "I..."

"Lucian, I beg you, if you is my brother, then tell me!"

He doesn't say anything, but I see the answer inside his eyes and I put my hands over my mouth, crying even more. Since the beggining I felt like we had some kind of connection, way stronger than from people that had just met each other. Nunnaly feels it as well, sometimes calling him 'Brother', just like she would say with Lelouch.

I go in his direction and I embrace him so strong that I bet that he losses the air inside his lungs, but I don't care about this now. I just care that I am holding him in my arms, not as a friend, but as my brother. God, when Lady Marianne discovers it...

"Euphie... you are killing me!"

"I'm sorry! It's just... I can't control myself right now! Why did you hid this? Lady Marianne would..."

"Euphie, I did it exactly because I didn't wanted her or anyone else to discover. All that the Royal Family brought to me was sadness and destruction."

"What do you mean? More important, how are you alive?"

He looks at Suzaku, like he wants to ask his opinion, but Suzaku doesn't know what to do either. After some seconds, he starts to tell me his history: that the Emperor abandoned him to be a guinea pig, how he went to Japan and spent his life peacefully as Suzaku's brother and how he protected his sisters after the war with Japan.

"I... could never imagined that... how father could..."

"The thing is: I can't allow anyone to discover about the fact of who I really am, otherwise those that I love might die."

"Lucian..."

"I've already choose my path, Euphie, and you discovering that I am your brother doesn't change anything." He starts to leave the room. "I have to go operate the Ganimede now, so we'll talk latter, I promise."

"Wait!" I grab his arm. "If you didn't wanted to be near the Royal Family, why did you visited us?"

"Because... I came to like you and Nunnaly." He releases his arm from my grip. "Otherwise... I would hate you as well. Suzaku, make sure to get out before anyone sees you."

He leaves the room, leaving me behind there, thinking about what he said to me. He may be right to have this hate for his family, but if I do what I planned, He won't need to continues with this Black Knights thing and he can live a completely normal life.

"Euphie, you should leave now."

"Why?"

"Lucian... he didn't told you about this all... so you won't get involved with him."

"What?"

"He was a target for assassins in his childhood, so for a long time he couldn't leave our house, in case someone might target him."

I wonder how would hurt to have your own family wanting him dead... no, just the Emperor. Lady Marianne still suffers for Lucian's 'death', remembering it all the time. I need to go on with my plan, so I can convince him to tell her the truth about himself...

_**Lucian**_

I am still shocked about Euphemia discovering about my secret like that. God, what will I do now? Use my Geass on her to make her forget about this?

I am making the giant pizza now, but my mind is away from here, thinking about what I should do with her. She became special to me before I could even see it coming and now I can't even think about using Geass on her, just like Kallen and Suzaku.

"Look, it's Princess Euphemia!" Someone on the crowd starts to say.

What she is doing? I can see her there, without the glasses she was wearing to hide herself. The whole crowd starts to gather around her, but the military stop them from getting so near her. The situation gets worse and worse until I make a mistake and the mass of the pizza goes flying into a tree, ruining it (C.C is going to kill me).

Dawn, why can't you behave like a princess? I grab her with the Ganimede's hand and get her tall enough so no one can reach her. She looks at me and smile, differently from all the other smiles that she gave me so far. This one has more heat and a pure sentiment of kindness, something that almost no one had ever showed me.

"Can you broadcast this to the whole Area?" She asks a reporter in the ground.

"Yes, why?" She tells her that she wants to make a declaration, so they arrange it for her.

"I, Euphemia li Britannia, hereby declare the formation of the Special Administrated Zone of Japan near Mount Fuji!" What, they are recognizing Japan? Just like this? "Inside this area, all the differences between the so called 'Elevens' and Britannians will disappear and everyone will be treated equally. In this Zone, Elevens will be also called 'Japanese' again, just like before the war."

Euphie, what are you doing? I already thought about that, but this is just an empty dream, an illusion. You can't achieve something like that just by wishing...

"Do you hear me, Zero?" Everyone gets surprised. "I don't care about your past or the man you are behind the mask, so I ask you to join us in the Zone. Help me in creating this new place."

I am done now! If I join this fake place, I will have to stop my rebellion and the creation of... wait, maybe this is exactly what I have been fighting for this whole time: a place of true justice. I have no reason to refuse it, since it helps me into accomplishing my tasks.

I make my decision.


	22. Stage 22: Dreams of a New Future

**Stage 22:**

**Dreams of a New Future**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

All the members of the Black Knights are now reunited inside this room, including the lower ranks. I have an important report to give to all of them, one that will change the whole Order. Even Kyoto has a secure link to hear my announcement.

"Thanks for your presence on this day. I have something important to say."

"It's related to the SAZ?"

"Yes, in fact, it is."

"What are we going to do about it, Zero?" Kallen asks.

"It's not what we are going to do, but what each one of you will."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that, after the establishment of the Zone, the Black Knights will cease to exist, at least in the way they are now."

I can hear confused and displeased sounds coming from them, which was expected. I raise my hand, making them all to stop the noise.

"I know what you are all thinking and, if you all let me finish, I can explain what do I mean."

"Alright... go on ahead."

"The creation of this place makes an unique situation: a place where all people are equal, achieving part of our original goal: creating a world of true peace." I stop for some seconds, making a dramatic effect. "However, just a part of this goal will be completed with the SAZ, so in order to accomplish it, I'll leave Japan for once."

"What? But..."

"You all can choose: you can either leave this place with me to help in the creation of a new world, either stay in Japan and live a peaceful life, helping in the recreation of this place."

"Why are you leaving? I mean, you were invited to be part of the SAZ." Ohgi says.

"I can't stand that people still suffer while I sit around, doing nothing. I'll stay for some time, helping stabilizing the SAZ, but I'll eventually leave. I want you all to know that I appreciated the help that you all gave me and, for those who will leave the Order, it was an honor to fight at your side."

Silence fills the room after I finish my statement. This is the only way that I can think to both help Euphie and myself, so I need to leave Japan. I will leave Emily and Alice with Milly and the others, so I won't need to worry about them. I wonder where should I go next...

"This is your choice, Zero?" Ohgi asks me seriously.

"Yes."

"Then... thank you." He gets on his knees and touches the floor with his head.

After this, all the members do the same to me and I see hundreds of people showing this sign of respect to me. I smile that no one can see is formed in my face and I bow my head to them, showing how touched I am.

* * *

"Enter." I say to the person knocking the door of my office.

"Zero, I want to talk with you." Katase enters the room, closing the door behind him.

"Go ahead."

"Where exactly do you plan to go after Japan?"

"Hum... maybe to Area 12, he Philippines, but this is just some thoughts. For now I don't have any plans formed."

"Hum... are you really sure about this? Leaving Japan?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then I'll go with you."

"Are you sure? Once you do it, there's no way back."

"I have no family, no dream and no one else besides this wish to free Japan. After I end this I don't have nothing to fight for, so I am going with you."

"I see..."

"Besides, I've already pledged my loyalty to you, so I must honor it."

"Thanks, General."

He lefts the room and I start to think about my future and what I might do on it. I wonder how many of them are really going to follow me to fight in another places around the world. They all have dreams to follow and family to take care, but, sometimes, there are things more important than those.

_**Suzaku**_

"Who would have thought that Zero would leave, right?"

"Yes, I wonder where he is going to be next."

"Are you going with him?"

Those conversations are filling the hideout and the hangar as I walk around the place. The only topic of the conversations are the announcement of Lucian, which is, at least, comprehensible. He caught me by surprise as well and now I need to talk with him about my future as well.

"May I come in?"

"Yes, of course Suzaku." I enter the room and I see him there, looking at some papers.

"Lucian, what was that? You never told me about this!"

"That was my intention."

"Why?"

"Suzaku, I don't want you to come with me."

"What?" Are you mad?"

"No, I'm deadly serious. I need you to stay here."

"Do you mean..."

"Euphemia and my sisters. You are the only one that I completely trust to protect them. While I am gone, I'll be the biggest enemy of the Empire and I need them protected, in case they found about who I am."

"Lucian..."

"Please, Suzaku."

"I... very well. I'll protect them all."

"Thanks... oni-san."

I leave him alone there and I start to go back to the hangar, to think about this all. Lucian tasked me with such a thing: protect those that he deeply care about from harm...

As I continue to go on, I come across Tohdoh and the Holy Swords in the hangar's entrance. I go in their direction, wanting to ask something.

"Hey, Tohdoh..."

"Yes, Suzaku, what is it?"

"Listen guys... what are you going to do after peace is set?"

"Hum... I think that I'm going to open a dojo." Tohdoh says.

"A dojo?"

"Yes, a place where I can teach people about Japanese culture and martial arts."

"I see..."

"I want to open a restaurant." Urabe says.

"Wait, what?"

"I always liked doing this stuff, so why not?"

"I would like to stay at a place in the mountains, resting in peace." Senba says with a smile.

"I plan to help with the SAZ, doing some paperwork." Asahina states.

"I... still unsure." Chiba says, looking at Tohdoh with a face with a slightly tone of red.

I thank them for the answer and I go to where my Lancelot is, only to find Rakshata working on it. She has a concentrated face and some sweat going down on her face. I ask her the same question, making her laughs.

"Someone needs to check the Knightmares, so I'll go with Zero around. Besides, if I don't do it, I'll end up doing some boring research or academic work."

"I see..."

"It'll be a great loss that you won't join us."

"How do you know?"

"It's all over your face. Don't worry, I'm not judging you, we all have the right to choose the course of our lives."

I decide to leave her alone in her work, but I continue to think about my future: while I stay here, Lucian will be out there, risking his life. While I live a school life, he will be fighting for freedom. Somehow, this makes me sad, since the whole reason for joining the Black Knights were to protect him...

I smile sadly as I remind of his order: to stay and protect those beloved to him. If I philosophize about it some more time, I can see that I will be defending his life: he can be assured that those beloved to him are safe and he can concentrate on the fight.

Also, I want to stay with Euphie, more than just as a friend. When I close my eyes, I see her smile, her grace and even her stubbornness. I can't imagine to be with someone else besides that woman...

_**Kallen**_

I can't believe that Lucian is leaving! How could he just decide something like that without telling me? I need to have a word with him...

"Zero!" I enter without even knocking his door.

"Yes Kallen?" He is calm, filling papers like nothing had happened.

"What do you think? How can you just say that you are leaving like that? What about your sisters? Your studies? What..."

"Kallen." He gets up. "Why are you so upset about it? You can always come with me."

"What? Do you mean... leaving with you?"

"Yes, after all, you are the Captain of my guard, right?"

"Do you... want me at your side?"

"Of course... more than just my captain."

"Lucian..."

"After Shirley's death... I couldn't think about being with another person, but... I think that I am starting to get back those feelings."

"You... are?"

"And... I think that I understood why you were so angry at that island."

"I..."

"Kallen, I need you." He says, making me blush.

"You... why now?"

"After Euphemia's declaration, I started to think about everything and I came to this conclusion. If you want it, we can go out together."

"Like... more than just a commander and a subordinate?"

"Yes."

I almost explode with this happiness that is erupting from inside my chest. I just go and embrace him, happy and with tears in my eyes by the fact that he... he...

"I-I'm sorry! I'll leave now."

"Kallen." I turn back to him before getting out. "You are coming, right?"

"What do you think, sir?" I leave him at the room.

I don't jump so much when I start to be on my way back to the hangar, smiling like I just ate the last piece of cake. I find Ohgi and the others there, talking about Zero's... Lucian's declaration.

"It'll be so good to be at peace." Minami says.

"I agree, this is so good that it looks like a dream."

"Yes, I agree. I can finally go back to teaching." Ohgi says with a smile.

I wonder what he could say if he discovers that I plan to follow Lucian to other countries to fight for freedom. Probably he would say that this isn't Naoto's wish, but I bet that Naoto would praise me.

I walk back home, looking at the starts in the night sky. All of them remind me of those childhood memories with Lucian, making me even more sure about my decision.

_**Kaguya**_

The old men of Kyoto are discussing what they are going to do about that SAZ of Euphemia, but I have only one thing in mind: Zero. What he is going to do about it: Will he join it? Will he fight against it?

A guard appears and tells the old man Kirihara about something, making him a little scrubby. He then starts to whisper with the others, making them wearing the same face.

"What happened?" I ask them.

"Zero decided to join the SAZ and he is going to leave Japan after he helps Britannian in the establishment."

"Leaving? Why?"

"He said that he wants to continue his fight against Britannia, but now that Japan will be 'freed', he will move to the next country."

"I see... then we..."

"So the support for the Black Knights won't be necessary anymore."

"What? Why?"

"Well, we helped the Black Knights in order to free Japan. Now thta this is done, we won't need their services anymore."

"So that's it? You use Zero and dispose of him, just like he achieved nothing?"

"Lady Kaguya, we appreciate his efforts, but now that he decided t continue to fight Britannia, we can't continue to support him."

I just get up and leave those old sacks of dust arguing about anything that they see fit. How can they think of Zero that way after all he has done to Japan? If they treat my husband like that, how can I expect to be respected by them?

I arrive at my room with a bad mood, angry about those stupid coots and their politics. After some time I calm myself enough to think about what I should do and I came up with a solution: all that I need to do is to make my engagement with Zero official, so they will have to help him in his fight.

How wonderful! I get out of the bed and I start to imagine my dress when I go to the altar, with him at my side. I want to please him, so we will marry in the Britannian way, so he won't need to learn any ritual. I can clearly see myself with a white dress, just waiting for him to put the wedding ring in my finger.

The only part that I can't theorize inside my head is the night right after the marriage. I wonder what he might expect for me, his wife, to do in a bed with just the two of us. I read about what happens, but I have never done it myself, but it is said that it hurts in the first time, but people seen to enjoy all the times after it. The main problem will be his mask, but I can put a band in my eyes if he wants, so there is no problem.

I make my decision: I will leave Japan with Zero.

_**Lucian**_

"I'm home."

"Welcome back, oni-chan."

"Yeah, yeah, welcome back."

The usual greeting from those two, as I expected, but today I have to ask them something really important.

"You two... what do you think about Suzaku?"

"I love him!" Emily says with a smile, blushing afterwards. "But I love you more."

"He is a kind person, why?" Alice looks at me suspicious.

"He might be the one taking care of you two for some time while I am gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" They both say at the same time.

"There's something that I must do, but I need to leave the country."

"What? But what would it..."

"It's something related with my past... something that I can't just leave for later."

"I don't want you to leave!" Emily says, crying. "I want you to stay with us! Please, don't go!"

"Hey, do not worry: I'll be back, one day."

"Promise?" She says, calming herself a little.

"Yes." I give her my little finger. "I promise."

"Then it's okay." She says, smiling and picking it up with her own.

Alice is a little harder to convince, but in the end she agrees (I hope) with all of this. During it, I sense someone hearing us from the door and I go to a place to check if my suspicions is right.

I find Milly in the rooftop, just like I thought, gazing at the stars in the night sky. When she notices my entrance, she smile, although I can't see her face from where I am.

"Were you the little mouse hearing from the door?"

"Maybe."

"You could just have asked me there, you know?"

"There's nothing to ask."

"Milly..."

"You were the one who started to call me like that, you know?"

"Yes."

"Before I met you, no one would treat me like a normal girl, as they all only saw my noble blood or the lack of it in enough proportions. You were the first... always was... always is..."

"Do you have something against me going out of Ashford?"

"I'll lose my vice-president."

"Why I'm not surprised by this answer?"

"I'll lose my friend."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't. All that you need to do is to follow your own hearth."

"Thanks."

I get out of the rooftop, with an unusual feeling of sadness in my chest.

_**Lelouch**_

"THAT WHORE!" A vase goes flying inside my room. "THAT STUPID AND UNSIGNIFICANT BITCH!"

Euphemia announced that little SAZ of her yesterday and that bastard that I have to call mother doesn't want to stop Euphemia from her madness! How could anyone agrees with such an idea of a place where 'everyone is equal'? Those Elevens are inferior to pigs, yet she dares to say they are equal to us, true Britannians!

"Someone is angry." A.A says with a playful tone, lying on the bed.

"Shut up! You know nothing!"

"Oh Lelouch, are you angry because your little mommy dosn't listen to poor baby Lelouch?"

"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS! I REFUSE TO CALL THAT ABOMINATION MY MOTHER!"

"Just because she won't listen to you? She..."

"She is just a commoner that rose to royalty, but everyone should have imagined this: once a filthy commoner, always a member of the pigsty."

"You seen to forget that she is your mother."

"I no longer see her as such a thing! Just like Euphemia and that worthless Nunnaly, two girls that only know about crying and tell those who are stronger to her to fight for them."

"What are you going to do against this SAZ?"

"That slut won't even allow me to touch a finger in this shit."

"Hum... what if you had the power to change all of this and, alongside it, get rid of your mother in the process?"

"How could...?" She grabs me and throws me on the bed, gets up me and take off her dress.

"All that you need to do is sign a contract with the devil."

_**Euphemia**_

More than twenty thousand people are filling the stadium where the opening ceremony is being held and there are a lot more outside the stadium. Seeing all those people here makes me fell happy and light, like I am in a dream.

There are three chairs in the middle of the stage: one for me in the center( I had a little discussion with Lady Marianne about this), one for lady Marianne at the right and one for Lucian as Zero at my left, but this one is empty. Lucian hadn't arrived yet, making me worried about his participation.

There are other chairs in the stage for important people, but the most surprising of it is that Lelouch is there, sited in a chair at Cornelia's side. I don't know why, but he wanted to participate in the ceremony, promising that he would behave himself.

"Euphie, it's time."

"Okay, Lady Marianne."

I get up with a little of sorrow for Lucian, but all that I can do now is to start the ceremony without him. As I go to the microphone, everyone in the crowd start surprised sounds and I see a Knightmare in the sky: the Gawain of Lucian.

"Zero, welcome to the Special Administrated Zone of Japan."

"Greetings, Euphemia li Britannia. I am here now to announce that I am joining the SAZ together with the Black Knights."

He accepted! Now we can all be at peace and people all around the country will have smiles on their faces. All that I did was to protect Lucian and Suzaku, with those people as well. Now he won't need to be Zero any longer.

He lands the Gawain behind the stage and he enters it with the same presence that he always seems to emanate. He goes towards me and offers his hand to me, just like we never spent those time together.

"It's an honor to meet you under peaceful conditions, finally."

"Same here." Lady Marianne gets up and goes in our direction. "Zero, without this person, this place wouldn't be a reality."

"Marianne vi Britannia, it's an honor to be near you without a sword being pointed to me." She laughs.

"I share this feeling."

This is so great! Now we can start the ceremony and begin this new era of peace for Japan. Zero takes his place and I start my speech, talking about all that we can achieve with this SAZ.

_**Lucian**_

Euphie is making a good speech right now, making me happy that she started this whole think by herself. After this, I can move on and leave everything to her, trusting that she will do a decent job.

The only flaw on my plan is Lelouch. I don't know about you, but I placed the Black Knights in all directions around this area, just to make sure that he doesn't make anything. Euphie finishes her speech and starts to move to her chair, so now is Marianne's time.

When she sits, Euphie puts her hand up mine, something that would startled some people, but she gets it off quickly, smiling. All my doubts about her are clear now and... something is wrong! The second Mariannes gets to the microphone, she puts her hands over her head and almost goes on her knees.

The guards look at her confused, just like everyone else here. At this moment, a chill goes up my spine and I look at Lelouch, seeing his smile, one that is sadistic, no happy.

_**Lelouch (Flashback)**_

"What do you want, Lelouch?"

"Oh, mother, I'm glad that you agreed to talk with me."

"That was your condition for not causing any confusion on the ceremony, so say what you want to say."

"Oh, there isn't so much, really." I smile at this pathetic imitation of noble. "I just want to ask you for something that I really need you to do, something that only you can."

"Say it, but if you think..."

"It's nothing, really." A birdlike sigil appears on my right eye. "All that I want you to do is, when is your time to give a speech, you kill all the Japanese and enjoy doing it."

"What are y-you... What have... you... d-done..." She puts her hands on her head, but in the end the order is stronger. "Okay."

"Thanks, mother."

"What? You hadn't asked anything."

"Forget about it, it was really nothing."

Now my plan is complete and I can finally strike down both Zero, Euphemia and Marianne. Then I can use this new power to be more than a prince, but the Emperor!

_**Lucian**_

"All of you that call yourselves Japanese, I have a favor to ask: could you kindly die?"

"What? Lady Marianne, what are you doing?" Euphie gets up, looking at her shocked.

"I guess that you won't commit suicide with just me asking, right? Soldiers, please kill all the Japanese."

"Cut the phones and cameras! Don't let this go out of this stadium!" Cornelia screams loudly.

"Viceroy, what are you doing?" I ask while I get up. "Stop..."

The first gunshot is heard, echoing for a time that seemed to take years to pass. After this, panic starts all over the place, with people running from their lives.

"Soldiers, please do your duty and finish them all!"

The soldiers start the massacre against all those innocent people and Marianne even shots Cornelia, who was trying to stop her. She aims at me, thinking that I am Japanese, but Euphie gets in the way, not stopping Marianne from shooting.

I get Euphie before she can hits the floor and I see a stain of blood in her white dress. God, I have to get out of here and get her a doctor before is too late. As I run for both our lives to the Gawain, I see Lelouch smiling like a demon, just like he planned all this.

I get inside the Gawain with her bleeding crazily. C.C came with me as well to pilot the Gawain while I was out there.

"What's happening out there?"

"Lelouch did something to Marianne and she ordered the mass murderer off all the Japanese."

"How do you know that it was Lelouch?"

"I can feel it. We need to stop Marianne and get that son of a bitch, but we need a doctor first, before is too late."

We start to fly away from the field, but some Britannian troops decide to be on our way, so I just kill them all: vehicles, infantry and Knightmares. There's no way for the SAZ to continue after this, so... I must use it... to my... advantage.

"Contact Diethard and tell him to transmit this to the whole world."

"Roger." After transmitting to Diethard my command, she looks at me. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm so sorry about this, Euphie, but I can't allow Marianne to kill all those people. I must use the Black Knights." I turn on my radio. "To all the Black Knights, this is an urgent order! Marianne ordered the slaughter of the Japanese! Defend the Japanese and capture the viceroy and bring her to me!"

"What is your plan?"

"I'll use my Geass on her to stop her."

"And then?" Before I can think about it, someone's voice can be heard from the sound system of the stadium and the surrounds.

"Here is the 11th Prince, Lelouch vi Britannia, and I must say something to you all: Viceroy Marianne ordered the slaughter of all Japanese, so go out there and kill them all for the glory of Britannia!"

"Lelouch!" Hate consumes my eyes as I hear this, making me to create a way to follow. "After taking care of Marianne, we'll achieve only one goal: kill Lelouch vi Britannia!"


	23. Stage 23: Prologue of the End

**Stage 23:**

**Prologue of the End**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"Marianne has betrayed us! All units go down there and destroy any Britannians attacking those people! Find Marianne and bring her to me!"

What the hell is happening here? We were standing around the stadium, hidden, just in case something happens and we started to hear gunshots. Next thing we know, Lucian tells us something unbelievable: Marianne ordered the massacre of the Japanese!

Could it really be truth? Marianne could really do something like that? I can't relate that kind woman to a mass murderer, but what can I say against it as I see the army killing the Japanese who don't have any way to fight back?

"Suzaku, can you hear me?" I see that Lucian is contacting me in a private channel.

"Zero, what is going..."

"Euphie was shot! I need to find her a doctor before is too late. Tell me where is the medical unit, hurry!"

"What do you mean she was shot?"

"We don't have time! Just tell me where I can leave her!"

What happened there? How did Euphie, a Britannian, ended up shot? I tell Lucian were the medical unit is placed and I hurry there, destroying any enemy that dares to cross my way. If I lose Euphie, then I... I...

_**Kallen**_

Tears fill my face as I kill all the Britannians in my way, inside a state of fury that I have never met. That bastard Marianne betrayed us! Not just the Japanese, but Euphemia as well with those orders.

While I fight, I see a very distinguished Gloucester: the one that belongs to Marianne. I smile sadistically as I go ahead to kill her, destroying every single unit that was guarding her.

"You dare to attack me, Marianne vi Britannia?"

"Not just attack, but kill you."

"Insolent brat! I will show you what it means to be inferior."

My Guren and her Gloucester strike each other into a furious set of blows. Lucian told us to capture her, but I can't do it! I will avenge those innocents that this witch killed!

_**Lucian**_

"You must save her, no matter what!"

"We'll do everything that we can Zero."

I watch the doctors of the Black Knights starting to move to save Euphie, but there is so much blood there that I fear for the worst. I can't leave right now, since I need to wait for Suzaku to appear.

"Where is she?" Someone appears from the entrance of the hideout, moved to a place near the stadium so we could have support from it in case anything would happen. "Where's Euphie?"

"She is been treated by the doctors now."

"What happened there? How is all this going on?"

"I..."

"Zero." One of the doctors goes to talk with me.

"What is it?"

"The shot itself isn't too much of a problem, but the blood loss is. We need to give her more, or she might not survive."

"Just give it to her!" Suzaku screams to the doctor.

"We don't have so much of her blood type, so it might be..."

"See if mine is the same." I say to him.

"Excuse me?"

"See if my blood type matches with hers, now!"

"What is it?"

"A+"

"Sorry, but this isn't..."

"Mine is O-, the universal type." Suzaku says to the doctor.

"Hurry then!" He gets Suzaku to the couch and takes his blood. "This might help us in saving her."

"So she might be safe now?"

"We'll do our best sir."

"Suzaku, come with me now."

I help him to get to my office and I take out my mask, showing him my tears from Euphie. He sits in the couch there, a little weak from the blood loss.

"What happened there?"

"Lelouch, he... he did something to Marianne."

"Wait, do you mean... Geass?"

"Most probably." C.C enters the office. "There's no way Marianne could do such a thing to innocent people."

"But how did he got it? I thought that a contract was necessary..."

"It is, so he must have found one Immortal to make it with."

"Doesn't matter how, but he most probably did it." I get up, putting my mask. "I'll deal with Marianne and Lelouch."

"Are you going to kill them?" C.C asks me.

"Only Lelouch, but I'll stop Marianne."

"I'll go with..."

"You stay here, protecting Euphie with C.C."

"Why me as well?"

"You two are the only ones that I trust without a doubt."

I get out before they can even answer, felling all the hate for Lelouch that was inside me emerging at the same time. The Gawain was recharged, so I enter it and I prepare myself for my tasks: killing Lelouch the most painful way that I can imagine (Mao showed me how great my imagination can be) and use my Geass on Marianne, stopping her. I just hope that nothing happens to get in my way as I do those things.

_**Kallen**_

"As expected of a former Knight of Rounds." I say as drops of sweat go down in my face.

Marianne is a formidable enemy, even in a inferior frame she manages to face me straight ahead. The two times the Black Knights faced her, she was got by surprise, but now that she is in a fair fight things have changed.

I try to use my Slash Harken on her, but her lance get in its way and she uses this chance to attack me with their own Harkens, but I avoid them. Next he tries a direct attack with the lance, but I use the Radiation Wave to defend myself. Unfortunately, she gets the lance out of the way in the last possible second, using the assault rifle to attack me from a distance.

"That's enough Kallen!" Lucian tells me from his Gawain that has just arrived.

"Zero? But..."

"I'll take care of her from now on. Go help the other units in destroying the Britannians."

"Understood, Zero."

I start to leave them behind, but I am not worried at all. The Gawain is an awesome machine and Lucian a great pilot, so he can take care of her easily.

_**Lucian**_

I land her Gloucester with a blow aiming for its arm, making her to put the lance on the way, but the Calesvol is much stronger than any normal MVS, so her lance and the arm of the frame are cut. She tries to use the assault rifle, but I cut it as well, leaving her without any options besides using her Slash Harkens. She gets out of the reach of my blade, but I use the Slash Harkens of my right hand to destroy her landspinners and her frame's legs.

I land the Gawain as she gets out of the Gloucester, but the second I get out of the cockpit, she starts to fire at me with a machine gun that she found in the floor. Using an opening created by the recharge of the gun, I get to the floor and do the only thing that I can to stop her even for a second: take off my mask and show her my face.

"I'm not Japanese!" She stops aiming at me and looks directly in my eyes, so I use Geass. "Stop killing the Japanese!"

She gets on her knees as a red ring appears in her eyes, but it soon break, leaving her there, shaking. She looks at me with terrified eyes, just like she had just noticed what she had done.

"What... what have I..."

"Marianne, you need to listen to me. Did you spoke with Lelouch before the ceremony?"

"I... you are that boy, Lucian."

"I really need to know if you spoke with Lelouch."

"Y-yes, I... d-did, but... he didn't said..."

"Lelouch used a strange power on you, Geass, to make you do those things."

"Geass, but..."

"I know that it sounds crazy, but I have this same power, so I stopped you from massacring the Japanese."

"Lelouch... how could he..." Tears fill her face. "He used his own mother..."

"I'll make him pay for..." I can't finish my sentence, because she grabs me and take me out of the way and she foes flying back.

I look behind me and I see another Gloucester there, the one who shot at me. No soldier of Britannia would shot with the knowledge that a Royal member would be in the way, so this one must be only one person.

"Who could have imagined that I would get the pleasure of killing you alongside Marianne, my defective copy?"

"LELOUCH! YOUR BASTARD!" I say while I pick the machine gun that Marianne was using and I run towards his Knightmare.

"Facing a Knightmare with a machine gun? What kind of fool are..." He shut his dawn mouth when I hit his factspheres, leaving him practically blind. "You bastard..."

I enter the Gawain as fast as I can and I start it, ready to finish him for once. I go after him and I try a direct hit on him, but he goes back in the last second, leaving just a big scratch in the front of the frame.

"All units: Destroy that Knightmare!" He says while a couple of Sutherlands appear in front of me.

"I don't have time for you!" I execute a horizontal blow, destroying two of them.

No one is able to stop my way, so I destroy all of them quickly, but when I finally get Lelouch, he uses the ejection system to get away from me.

"Coward!" My first thought is to go after him, but I remember Marianne.

When I get to her, he has a huge hole in the place that her stomach used to stay and was breathing heavily. I get out of the Gawain and I approach her, taking her hand in mine.

"Lucian... you forgot your mask."

"What are you talking about? This doesn't matter now. We need to get you a doctor."

"It's too late... I can feel the life getting out of me as we speak..."

"No! It has to be a way! You can't die just like that!"

"I accept my... own death, but there is... s-something that I want... to ask you first."

"What?"

"Are you... my Lucian?"

There is so much pain in her eyes that all my defenses crumble before her, my mother, my true mother. Tears start to fill my eyes as I try to answer, but she sees the truth in my eyes, just like Euphie.

"I... knew it... since that dinner..."

"Why did you..."

"I didn't tell anyone... because it was just... a supposition and... if you weren't... I would just suffer the same loss... once more..."

"Marianne..."

"I'm glad... that I managed to pass at least one... little time with... you..."

"Don't speak, you'll just..."

"You are so different from... Lelouch... in some way I... am proud of... the man you are... my son..."

"Mother!" The tears are flowing like a waterfall. "Please, don't leave me!"

"I wish that... we could spent... more time as... mother and son... I have just... one last wish for... you..."

"What is it?"

"Protect... Nunnaly and Euphie... from Lelouch... please, you... are the... last family that... they can count now..."

"I will."

"Thanks... I love you, Lucian, even if I never... saw you growing up... you getting in love or... even really knew... you..." Her hand touches my face, but it soon falls back to the floor in her own blood, not moving anymore.

I hold her body as I tremble, crying. That woman would never abandon me, or even allow such a thing. All the hate that was reserved to Lelouch now is being shared with the Emperor, the one that caused all this. After I destroy Lelouch, I will crush him as well. Just wait for me, 'father'.

_**Suzaku**_

"How is she?" I say at the second the doctor gets out of the room where they were taking care of Euphie.

"Stable. The blood given by you helped us in saving her."

I almost cry of happiness from hearing that she would survive. I sit on the couch, exhausted from the blood that was taken from me (the doctor needed more than just the first time) and I can feel C.C's hand in my shoulder, showing her support.

A trasmission is sent to all the Black Knights: all the enemies were defeated and now we are going to assemble in the base behind the stadium. I try to get up on my own, but I need C.C to help me in doing it. The doctors assure me that they would take care of Euphie

**Put a line here**

Lucian is in the center of Kallen and me and we are all looking at Kyoto in a hidden room inside the base that Britannia was using to command the ceremony. Lucian didn't speak with us when Kallen and me arrived, so I am worried about him.

"It's so good that we meet again, Zero." The young girl with them speaks first. "And you too, Suzaku."

"Hum..."

"It's me, you cousin Kaguya."

"Wait, you really is..."

"We don't have time for this now." Lucian cuts me.

"I agree with him. Zero, are you ready to work besides us in what is to come..."

"Just the opposite: for now one, the houses of Kyoto will be under my control. I won't hear any objections to this, unless you want to lose the only way left for you all to survive."

What in hell? What happened to him to make he do such a thing? I doubt that they will...

"Very well, Zero." Kaguya says with a smile.

"Thanks. Now we go to the stadium in order to tell the world my intentions."

**Put a line here**

We are now in the stadium with all the Japanese that survived the massacre. They are saluting Lucian and the Black Knights for saving them, saying things about Marianne.

"People of Japan and all of you who are oppressed by Britannia! I waited far too long for them to come to their senses, but this is the last time that I will fight in the shadows. Our hope was betrayed by an act of barbarism that can only be called genocide! Marianne is the very symbol of what Britannia is: a person who would betray even those from her family! She betrayed not just us, but Euphemia, the person that tried to accomplish this!"

"Death to Britannia."

"Long live Euphemia."

"I hereby declare our independence from Britannia, but don't take this as a sign that the old Japan will come back. We will not turn back the gears of time, but we will build a new place, a new country where anyone can be accepted, no matter their ideologies, races, origins or history, a place where the strong shall not oppress the weak. This new place will be called United States of Japan!"

This is being transmitted to the whole world, so now there is no way back. We have to get rid of the Britannians that control Japan in order to achieve this place. After what happened to Euphie and Marianne, I must help Lucian in destroying Britannia, no matter what might happens.

"Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! " The crowd repeats his name, like he is the savior itself.

_**Lucian**_

I enter a room to rest for some time before the attack of the settlement and I see C.C inside, closing the persiennes of the window. I take off my mask without a word and I sit on the couch.

"Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not. My mother was killed by my brother that I don't accept as mine."

"So you accepted Marianne?"

"Yes."

"What have you done to her body?"

"I've buried her in a wood filled of trees that I found in the way here. I didn't tell anyone about this, so she might rest in peace now."

"Lucian..."

"I'll destroy Britannia for what happened, I am sure of this. Now the only thing that I need to accomplish is to free Japan, then I can continue moving forward."

"Lucian, you know that you can talk to me, right?"

"I know, believe me."

"I'm your ally and you accomplice as well, so don't hold anything." She gets on her knees in front of me and puts my head in her chest. "I'll be with you until the end."

I can hear her hearth beating and I can fell all my emotions coming at me again. I hold her closer to me and I cry with all my might, making her to rest her own head on mine.

**Put a line here**

Resistance Groups from all places are joining us in the way to Tokyo Settlement as we move forward. Now we have soldiers in the house of the tens of thousands. We crush the defense line set to stop us and we continue to move, making it just a matter of hours before we arrive at the settlement.

"Zero, I completed that task that you told us." Tohdoh apeear with the Holy Swords.

"Did you find her?"

"See for yourself." He gets out of the way and he shows Chiba holding a sleeping Nunnaly in her back. "We got her before the army could go away with her."

"Very well."

"May I ask why you ordered us to get her?"

"Now that Cornelia is out of combat and I killed Marianne, Lelouch is the one leading the troops in the settlement. I plan to use his sister as a bargaining chip in case things get worst."

"What? But..." Chiba starts to say.

"It's only a countermeasure, don't worry. She will be well treated, or I will cut the hand of those who hurt her."

"Thanks, Zero." Tohdoh gets out of the command room of the G-1 base that we are using to move to Tokyo.

"Nunnaly..." I kneel in front of her as she starts to wake up, sited in the chair in the center of the room. "Good to see you awake."

"What... Zero? Where am I? What's going on?"

"Do not worry, I wont hurt you. You are here because I needed to get you to safety."

"I don't believe you! You killed my brother Clovis!"

"Nunnaly, do you want to see Euphemia?"

"Euphie?"

"Yes, she is in a medical section, being treated from her injuries. Want to see her?"

"Y-yes! But..."

"I promise that I won't hurt you, okay?"

"Okay."

I grab her hand and we both start to go to the base, but Kaguya appears in the door, stopping our advance.

"I thought that you were with the other Kyoto members."

"I slipped away to be with you. After all, I'm your wife."

"I've already told you..."

"Who is she? Another wife of yours?"

"No! She is a person under our custody."

"It doesn't matter to me now. You can have as many fiancée you want, as long I am one of them."

"Really? Isn't this a little too strange?"

"Not at all. I also wanted to see you winning the battle."

"Do you think that we are going to win?"

"Of course, since I am the goddess of victory."

"Well... if that's true, I may want to have you at my side."

"Really?"

"But let's think about it after the battle, alright?"

I pass thought the door, leaving her behind. That girl was always some of a pin in the ass, even as a child, always telling everyone that we would be married in the future. God, why every persona that I use, he always seems to want to marry me?

"She is your wife?" Nunnaly asks me.

"No, she isn't. I've just met her some weeks ago."

"You are going to fight?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I must."

"I don't understand."

"You don't really need to understand this, all that you need now is to be with Euphemia."

We arrive at the medical section and we see Euphie resting in the bed, with Suzaku at her side. When Nunnaly sees her, she runs towards her sister, hugging and kissing her.

"Nunnaly, I'm so glad..."

"Euphie!" The little girl starts to cry in Euphie's arms.

"Suzaku, let's leave them alone and head out now."

"Yes sir."

"You two... be careful out there." Euphie look at us, worried.

"Yes... we will." We both leave the room.

"Are you sure that they will be safe?"

"Yes, they will. Now all that we need to do is to kill Lelouch."

"And this will be over?"

"Not until we finish the Emperor himself."

"This will take some time."

"Yes. Do you really can fight? You look..."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I received some blood, so I am okay."

"Okay them."

We move to our Knightmares, ready for the battle.

_**Lelouch**_

"That bastard! It was him this whole time!"

"What are you going to do against him now?" A.A asks me.

"I'll crush him! That copy of me!"

"I have a better plan. You will just need to use your power some more."

"Say it."

"Crush everything that he loves."

_**Lucian**_

We are in the air in the outskirts of the settlement and I am ready to start my plan to take it from Britannia. All the preparations are clear and all that I need to do is to press a button. I give Britannia until midnight to surrender, or I will destroy the whole place apart.

The minutes pas with tension as midnight gets near. In the second the watch tells Japan that a new day has come, the whole settlement goes to the ground, with the structures holding it together falling apart. I used my Geass on the ones that have control of it and I told them to release the plates used to hold earthquakes all at once.

The only places that weren't destroyed were Ashford, to be used as a main base, a broadcast tower, as communications, and the bureau office. Now all that I need to do is to defeat Lelouch and...

A bombardier appears, but it isn't moving in our direction, but to... no! It was moving to Ashford Academy and it releases a full set of bombs in the Academy, setting it in flames and turning it into a pile of junk.

"No... this can't..." Hate fills my interior and now all that I want is to make Lelouch suffers as much as I suffered in his hands. "LELOUCH!"


	24. Stage 24: Ode to Madness

**Stage 24:**

**Ode to Madness**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Lucian**_

"This is madness!" Suzaku speaks behind me.

I can only agree with him as we land in the destroyed grounds of what used to be my old home. I get out of the cockpit, ignoring all of Suzaku's complains about the danger. Only after I see it in front of me, I can really believe it: Ashford Academy is now a pile of ruins and fire, destroyed by a Britannian airstrike.

"Alice! Emily!" I run in the direction of where I think that the clubhouse building used to be, but all I see is the remains of it.

I call for my sisters in despair, one that gets deeper as I continue to yell their names, but anyone answers me. I hear some moaning and, turning around some pieces of building, I see the font of them: students that hadn't died in the attack.

I look horrified to those people that I used to study, but now they are just pieces of human beings: there are legs, arms and bodies everywhere, as well as those who are alive, but suffer from the injuries. I stand there, looking at them, feeling the vomit trying to make its way up my mouth, but I control it.

How could Lelouch... he attacked innocent people to hit me and Britannian students that had no way to fight back! He saw my face, so he knew where I lived, so he...

"He attacked Britannian students... why?" Suzaku talks with a trembling voice.

It is my fault! I took off my mask when I went to help Marianne and Lelouch saw it. All those innocents murdered because I am Zero! Shall I bear this sin as well, just like Mao?

"Z-ze...ro." A male student without legs grabs my cape. "Help... us! You are... the defender... of the weak..."

"Before I can answer him, he dies at my feet. Images come back at me from all those years spent in this very same school: My family and me spending time in the gardens; Rivalz showing me his new motorbike, all proud that he managed to buy it; Milly introducing Shirley to me...

Those things are gone by now, all because of a man, a man that has so many sins in his back that even Hell may reject him. Lelouch vi Britannia is a murderer, one that doesn't even care about other human beings.

"Zero, what should we do now? Zero?" I can hear Tohdoh calling me from the radio.

"I..."

"The Britannian forces are reassembling in the bureau building. How should we proceed?" Katase asks me.

I close my eyes, trying to think about this situation. I can't lose my control now that we have went so far, so I need to let my hearth become ice in order to destroy Lelouch and avenge those people. There is no way that Emily and Alice could... they were probably inside the buildings when the bombs hit the place, so they must be...

"Move forward and destroy any scattered units from the enemy!" I say as tears roll down on my face. "The place that was going to be our command center is now in ruins, so we'll have to use the G-1 Mobile Base that we got from Britannian!"

I am so sorry Emily, Alice, but I need to move forward... I show my back to the students that are agonizing in the floor, but I can't do anything for them right now, besides calling a medical unit to help them. I hope that I can forgive myself for leaving this place.

"Zero..." Suzaku says from the Lancelot's cockpit.

Before I can enter the Gawain, I see a very familiar hair in one of the fallen students: a blue hair. The one with the blue hair is up a girl, like he tried to protect her, and I see pieces of tree trespassing his back. I go in their direction and I get him out from the girl, confirming my thought about his identity: Rivalz.

He has a face that shows pain, but I can see that his pain has passed, leaving him at peace. I close his eyes and lay him on the floor, already missing his easy laugh and his disposition to always help anyone. I see the girl that he tried to protect and I am not surprised to see Milly there. She suddenly breaths real hard and I thank God for this miracle.

"Rivalz..."

"Can you hear me?" I say to her, grabbing her from her shoulders.

"Zero...? What happened?"

"We need to get you a doctor, before is too late!"

"Where's... Lucian...?" So typical of her, thinking about others instead of herself. "What happened to Rivalz...?"

"Don't worry about it now! We need to get you help first!"

"It's cold... and wet..." At first I thought that the stain of blood on her body was from Rivalz's, but now I see that it is still coming out.

"No! No, please no!"

"Zero, what...?" Suzaku appears with the Lancelot and he gets out an exclamation of shock when he see Milly.

"Get her to the doctors, now! Maybe there's still time!" I fell that she grabs my arm now. "Milly?"

"I beg you... to find Lucian... he needs to... be alive..."

"Don't worry about him!"

"He will always be... the one that I love..."

"What?" She never...

"He never saw... me as nothing... more than a... good friend..." Her voices gets weaker and weaker. "I wish that... I could have... said this to him..."

Her body gets floppy and lifeless as she closes her blue eyes for the last time. I continue to hold her, even with the full knowledge that she won't come back to me, just like Marianne. Now I don't have anyone besides the Black Knights, all because of Britannia.

"Suzaku..." I get up, covered with blood. "I will commit fratricidal."

"I won't stop you in any way."

With my hearth as a stone, I move to the Gawain to face the battle before me, one that I mustn't lose for the sake of those that I have already lost because of it. When I get Lelouch, I think that Mao would be relieved to know that his death was painless compared to what I plan to do with Lelouch.

_**Lelouch**_

"For all the troops in the settlement: defend the bureau building with all your might and don't let the Black Knights to get even close to it."

I used my Geass in the pilot of the bombardier to order him to launch bombs in that school that Lucian lives, all to unbalance him. Now the chances for us to defeat those Elevens are assured, not that they were low before this little trick.

"Your Highness." That irritating Knight of Cornelia appears before me. "Please, allow me to stay at Cornelia's side."

"Are you deaf? I gave you very specific orders to fight alongside the Glaston Knights and defend the building, or this is too much for your stupid head to take care of?"

"Sir..."

"Get out of my way and do as I say, otherwise I will arrest you for high treason against the Crown!"

"Very well." He makes a face that could just give me the excuse to execute him for treason, but I let it pass.

I am surrounded by idiots and morons that doesn't even know how to do anything without my guidance. The only one that can be really useful is A.A, advising me about various subjects, like destroying the school and... well, this is a plan B in case things get ugly, but I won't need to use it, since my opponents are Elevens.

I am the only member of the Royal Family that is still on foot: Cornelia was shot by Marianne and now is hospitalized, while Cornelia and Nunnaly are with the Black Knights, a crime that I must judge with all my severity. The plan worked perfectly: I have the excuse to wipe away the Black Knights and I don't have that whore that I had to call mother to control me like a rabid dog.

I put all my forces around the bureau office to hold our position against Zero and his 'knights of justice'. The only way for him to attack us from air now is to use those flying Knightmares, but there is no way that they can...

"Sir, we can see Zero in his Gawain."

"OUR Gawain."

"Yes... shall we attack with the air force?"

"What do you think, you stupid cockroach? Of course!"

All the choppers and anti-aircraft weapons are now pointed to Zero and they fire at once, leaving now space for him to maneuver his Knightmare. I smile as I see the Gawain being surrounded by missiles, but it disappears when the Lancelot destroy most of them with his blue weapon. The rest of the missiles are destroyed by the Hadrons Cannon of the Gawain, as well as all our air forces.

How could this be? Two Knightmares destroying all those choppers?

"Getting desperate?" A.A appears with a amused face. I grab her from the arm and we both leave the room to a place that no one will be able to hear us. "I told you to don't sing victory before Zero is defeated."

"Then what do you suggests?"

"What about Plan B?"

"If it doesn't works, then we are screwed?"

"Hum... maybe..."

"What? What it is?"

"We could use Orange, for a change."

_**Kallen**_

I can't believe it... the school was destroyed right in front of us and we couldn't do anything to save it. Everyone is... is... all because of Britannia! They don't care about how many families they destroy or how many people they harm, as long as they get what they want!

"Kouzuki, move forward with Asahina and destroy that group of enemies before they can join the main force defending the bureau." Tohdoh commands me.

"Roger!"

I find the group, formed by six Sutherlands and a Gloucester. Before Asahina or anyone else can arrive, I attack first, killing and enemy with my Radiation Wave before they can even fight back. The next one falls with my knife, but by now the rest of the enemies are ready to fight back. They all try to fight back, but I am in a fury without limits now, so I destroy all of them.

"Hey, calm down." Asahina finally arrives. "You almost got killed back there. Why are you so reckless today?"

"All of those Britannians deserve to die!"

"Not all of them are bad people. If you follow this logic, Zero deserves to die as well."

Lucian isn't a real Britannian, since his hearth doesn't belong to Britannia. He is the one that shall bring a new era of peace to Japan and the whole world and, to make this world real, I will even slaughter any Britannian in my way.

"To all the Black Knights: assemble around the bureau building and get ready for the battle!" Katase speaks to us from the radio.

I look at the sky and I see Lucian and Suzaku fighting the air reinforcements, feeling a pain in the hearth. I wish to join them, but Rakshata hadn't developed a flying system for the Guren yet, so I'll have to wait for my chance.

I move to the place designed by Katase to start the siege, ready for anything that they might have. This is all that I can do to protect my loved Lucian.

_**Lelouch**_

"What is this?" I look perplexed at a container with someone inside it: Jeremiah Gottwald, the fallen member of the Purist Faction.

"Our little Orange almost died in Narita from the radiation emitted from that red Knightmare. Isn't that right, Bartley?"

"Precisely." General Bartley, one of my brother Schneizel subordinates agrees with her. "I wasn't with my team at the time, but they found him, barely able to stay on his own feet, and they used him as a guinea pig for their experiments."

"What have you one with him?"

"His neural system has been enhanced and his body was treated with hormones, medications and prototype technology."

"A.A, what exactly do you want to do with him?"

"There." She points to a strange orange machine behind me. "He is going to fight Zero in that thing."

IT is a strange kind of machine, I must say. It has five conical structures all over its orange body that doesn't resembles any machine that I ever saw. If it is a Knightmare, it is the strangest that I ever saw.

"This is the Siegfried, a new type of Knightmare called Knight Giga Fortress. His design is much different from anyone that you ever saw, your Highness. His design features a electromagnetic armor and a integrated float system and he has seven Slash Harkens on it: five conical and two normal."

"And why Orange is the one that has to pilot it? I probably can do it as well."

"Well... the Siegfried features a piloting system way too different from a normal Knightmare: it is necessary that the pilot links his neural system to the machine, allowing full mental control over it." Bartley answers me.

"So this one is the only person that can really pilot it." A.A finishes, tapping in the container."

I give it some thought before I answer it. Orange is a traitor that stained the name of Britannia, only allowed to stay in the Army after he let Zero get Kururugi out because he once served my mother as a royal guard. Maybe Lucian used some kind of Geass power on him to make he do that, but it still continues to be a treason.

Maybe this is his chance to be useful to me before I execute him for treason, since I am not so merciful as my mother. This may get rid of Zero and his little pet, Kururugi.

"Get him out of there."

_**Schneizel**_

"How long it will take until we arrive?"

"At least eight hours, my Lord."

I don't show any emotions to that information, but it gets me angry the same way. A good leader can't show this kind of thing to others and he must always wear a face used by professional poker players.

"Can they hold the bureau building until any kind of reinforcement arrives?"

"The closest ones are going from Area 12, so they might need about an hour to arrive."

"My brother doesn't have an hour, but minutes before the building is assaulted. There is any way that we can go faster?"

"No, my Lord. We are already at full speed."

"Long-range missiles?"

"They wouldn't hit the target from that distance."

This is just getting worse and worse. Lelouch can't hold that longer with the crime committed by Marianne driving the Elevens to their wish of independence. Before I can think of a plan, Kanon Maldini, my loyal right-hand, appears before me with a worried face.

"Sir, there is someone that wants to talk with you from the Homeland."

"Sorry, but right now isn't a good..."

"The problem is that he isn't a person that you can just ignore."

"Who he is?"

"The High Cardinal."

What? What does that man wants with me now? I thought that he wasn't even in the Homeland to begin with. I grab the communicator without a word, looking at Kanon and trying to find an answer in his face.

"Your Holiness?"

"Schneizel, I presume?" A calm voice speaks from the other end of the line, a voice that would calm down even the most rebel of men. "I have an order for you."

"Sir, sorry to say it, but this isn't the right..."

"Don't help the army in Area 11 until the battle is over."

"What? Sir, if we don't provide..."

"Can you even arrive on time?"

"No sir, but..."

"Then those are your orders."

"With all due respect, but they won't be able to defend themselves from such an attacking force without..."

"Reinforcements were deployed from Area 12."

"I know but..."

"Obey me Schneizel, or I should use the whole extension of my power to make you?" His tone doesn't change, but I can feel the anger in his voice.

"No... your Sanctity, you don't need."

"Good. Wait for further orders." He calls off the call.

I look at the ground, never feeling so defeated in my whole life. Even as the premier of Britannia, I can't disobey any direct order from the Eden Vital Order, the biggest religion of the Empire and maybe the whole world. In Britannia, the only one that can cancel an order from its High Cardinal is the Emperor.

"Sir?"

"Continue moving to Area 11, but tell to all soldiers to stop the preparations for the battle."

"But why?"

"Orders from above." I start to get out of the room, followed by Kanon.

"There isn't something that we..."

"No, I am afraid that I can't counter an order from him."

"Why would he issue such an order?"

"I have no idea, Kanon."

From now on, Lelouch must fight on his own against Zero. I pray that the High Cardinal really is the one representing of God on Earth, because if he isn't...

_**Charles**_

"That boy really is something." I say, looking at the C's World.

Lucian went farter than I would have expected and he is now even being a menace to the whole Empire. He really is a true Britannian and my son, maybe if I hadn't sent him to Code G, maybe he would have ended up as the Emperor.

"So things are finally getting settled, right Charles?" My brother, V.V, appears behind me.

"Humph... Lucian is making quite an uproar, I must admit. But this whole situation doesn't change the final result."

"The death of the Gods."

"Yes." I continue to look at C's World for some time and I think, maybe for the hundredth time, how similar it is from Jupiter. "What does he says?"

"You mean the Prophet? He says that everything is going just like Morgana predicted in the past."

"This is good, Brother."

"Indeed. I must admit Charles, I wasn't so happy about this Prophet of yours, but I think that he is an unique ally for our cause."

"Even as the High Cardinal he is amazing."

That man started to be a famous priest seven years ago, predicting every aspect of what was going to happen in the world. His ascension inside the Eden Vital Order was astonishing and he appeared one day before me, telling me all our plan to kill the Gods and how we would do it.

I never regretted his join in the plan as he showed up a loyal servant and a powerful comrade, so I gave him the title of High Cardinal. There is only one thing about him: he never shows his face to anyone, even inside the church, covering his face with a mask. His name is unknown as well, making a lot of people doubting his fast rising or if he is really Britannian.

That is exactly why we must kill the Gods, so that way this kind of discrimination can end. In the end of this road, we can finally achieve our goals and we can create peace for humanity.

_**Tohdoh**_

"Continue moving forward! Don't give up!"

The attack against the bureau has started and I am leading it as the Battlefield Commander of the Black Knights. The defenses of the place are high, but with all the power that the Black Knights gathered in the last few hours, we can win this battle.

I advance and a Gloucester appears before me, but this one is different from the rest: it has a darker purple scheme than the others. I attack it, but it defends my blow with the lance, proving that he isn't an ordinary enemy. After some more blows, I notice who he is: the man that fought against me in Narita, the one from Marianne's Royal Guard.

"We found each other again." I say.

"Seems likely, Tohdoh." He gets rid of the lance and he grabs a sword similar to the one used by the Lancelot. "Sorry, but I must defeat you for the honor of my princess."

"And I must defeat you for the Honor of Japan."

"So let's fight for those things, Lieutenant Colonel."

I use my Brake Sword, activating its boosters to enhance the speed and strengthen the blow, but he get out of the way before it hits, trying to execute a counterattack afterwards. I defend myself with my sword, being able to do it in the last second. Guilford is a man that stands from the rest with his abilities as a Knightmare pilot and strategist, so he is quite an enemy.

We continue to deliver each other strikes, but we are equals in skill, so this is turning into a fight of attrition, with the man with the greater resilience as the winner.

_**Lucian**_

We have eliminated all the air force from the reinforcements brought by Britannia, so now there isn't a real treat to us in the sky or Earth. Before I can point this to Suzaku, I sense something coming at my direction, being barely able to avoid the orange machine that appeared in the night sky.

"What is that thing?" Suzaku asks.

"ZERO! I AM FINALLY ABLE TO FACE YOU IN BATTLE!"

"Orange?"

"DIE!" That machine of his starts to spin and comes at my direction again and this time I can dodge it with ease.

"What he is doing around here?" Suzaku asks, trying to hit him with the VARIS, but he is too fast even for the rifle.

"Hell if I know." I say, trying to hit him with my Hadrons Cannon, missing as well.

This is bad! This guy was totally out of any prediction that I could have made! Where did he even got this ... Knightmare, I think? And how did he survived Narita after receiving that amount of radiation in his Sutherland?

"Zero!" I am almost hit by two Slash Harkens sent by Jeremiah, but thanks to C.C we avoid it.

"Thanks C.C."

"No problem."

She is acting as my co-pilot now, but she usually stay quiet, but sometimes she saves my life, like right now. I don't know what I could do without her around.

"Let's take care of this bastard." I say, picking Calesvol from its sheath.

"Yes!" Both C.C and Suzaku agrees at the same time.

This is it, I can feel it: the last battle. Defeat Orange and the rest is assured, so I don't need to worry myself too much. If things get ugly, I can request help from the Black Knights in the ground and use Kallen as well.

The Gawain and the Lancelot go at the orange machine at the same time, ready for the oncoming battle. If God is really good, the last for today.


	25. Stage 25: Final Step to Hell

**Stage 25:**

**Final Step to Hell**

**2017 A.T.B**

_**Kallen**_

"Take this!" Another Sutherland falls before my Guren.

"Good work, Kouzuki." Urabe says to me from his Gekka.

"Let's continue moving forward, just like Tohdoh and Katase said." Chiba says.

The assault is being hampered by the strong defense mounted by Lelouch, now the acting viceroy of Area 11, but not for long! From today onwards, we must create our own country, one that won't see the origins of its citizens. With Lucian, we can finally achieve this place.

"What is that in the sky?"

I look at where he say and my hearth stops: the Gawain and the Lancelot are fighting a strange orange Knightmare and they are having a bad time dealing with it. Even facing two skilled enemies, the orange one is avoiding all the attacks from both.

"Zero!" I scream in despair.

I have to do something to help him! I can't fly like them, but it has to be some way to get to them before that thing hurt Lucian (Suzaku too). I look around in despair, trying to find a way to get to the fight...

_**Suzaku**_

This thing is fast for something that size, I have to say. Every time we attack, it starts to either spin, either avoid our attacks. The worst is that he already managed to hit the Gawain and the Lancelot with those strange harkens.

We need to end this fight quick, or we will start to lose ground here. The Britannian saw the fight in the sky and they are now with a high morale, fighting even harder than before. According to the Intelligence, reinforcements will arrive in 45 minutes from Area 12 and a large fleet is coming from Britannia itself.

I shoot with the VARIS one more time, but he dodges again, just like the other times. Lucian and me strike at the same time, hoping to hit it, but he starts to spin, destroying one of my swords and almost breaking Lucian's Calesvol.

"This guy is good!"

"This new model helps him a little bit." C.C says.

"Suzaku, let's fall back for now."

"What, but..."

"I have a plan, so just follow me."

We start to fly away from him into the destroyed streets of what used to be the settlement. After some time we find the 3rd Squad and Lucian order them to destroy Jeremiah, but he kills the whole squad with a spin.

"Watch out!" I say as Jeremiah continues his spin, getting terribly close to the Gawain.

"Get away from him you bastard!" The Guren suddenly appears from up the building, jumping at the spinning thing.

"Kallen!?" Three surprised voices speak her name.

The orange model stops his spinning for just one second, but that is enough for the Guren. The moment she touches it, the Radiation Wave is turned on and one of the spikes is destroyed, but he manages to get rid of it before it destroys the whole machine.

"What are you doing here?" Lucian asks her.

"I'm your personal Captain, remember?"

It is good that Kallen is at our side, but she doesn't has a Flight System, so she can't even fight Jeremiah straight, so how does she plans... The answer comes quickly: she uses the radiation to boost herself in the enemy's direction, surprising everyone, even Jeremiah, since another two of his Harkens are destroyed in the process.

"Hey Suzaku?"

"Yes?"

"We are being passed by a girl."

"Yes, but the girl is Kallen."

We try to hit him with her, but now he is fully aware of the Guren movements, so he avoid it easily this time, jus like the last ones delivered by us. This fight is getting tougher and tougher as we continue on and Jeremiah seens to fight with even more will.

"This is getting us to nowhere."

"Agreed."

_**Lelouch**_

"Orange boy is serving his purpose well."

"He even got the morale higher." I agree with her.

Orange is doing his role perfectly as our diversion while we wait for reinforcements. Even I am not so foolish to believe that I can defeat the Elevens without them, since more and more are coming each second. Someone appears stating that an urgent call is coming from the Homeland for me.

"Who wants to speak with me now?"

"You know who I am." A very calm and controlled voice comes out of it.

"You?"

"Yes, me. Do you want to achieve even greater power?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just tell me if you want to be the Emperor, but of the whole world, not just Britannia."

Whole world? Can this man really help me in doing this? If this is true then I...

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I predicted it."

_**Lucian**_

"This whole thing is pointless."

"I agree, but we need to fight him the same way."

Even with three Knightmares, Jeremiah is proving to be a harder opponent than expected. I managed to do some damage on it with my Calesvol, but that is all that we did so far.

"Zero, we need to tell you something."

"What it is, Katase?"

"Seems like Lelouch left the battlefield."

"What? For what reason?"

"I don't know, but he managed to sneak out of the settlement while we were busy dealing with the troops. We don't know for sure what does he pretends."

"He only shows his cowardly personality doing it."

"But what should we do?"

"We must go after him now, before he gets away."

"I agree, but we don't have any air unit besides the Lancelot and the Gawain."

"I'll go after him." I say to all of them.

"No!" The voices of Kallen, Katase and Suzaku are heard at the same time.

"It's the only way we can do it: Kallen, you and Suzaku take care of Jeremiah and Katase, you are in the command while I am gone."

"But without you..."

"I believe in my comrades. If there is anyone that can face Britannia, you all are those ones."

"Thanks Zero."

"Transmit this to the whole Order." After the transmission is set, I start my speech. "Hear me, Black Knights, you all are fighting for your homes right now and for the children that are still to be born. I must leave the battle to deal with Lelouch, but I am letting you all here, my loyal comrades, to fight for me! My sword is you all and my will is with you and, even from the distance, I am with you all."

"Zero!" I can hear from the communicator that they are cheering me.

I start to get away from the battlefield, but Orange isn't going to let me. I see a building and I have an idea.

"Kallen, Suzaku, get away from him now."

I lure him into my trap: When he is close enough, I destroy the building upon him, burring his orange machine under a pile of rubble. I say a final goodbye before leaving the site, but not so long after I start to be on my way, I hear that Orange isn't going to give up so easily.

Now, where are you going, dear Brother? What kind of place would you go during a chance to exhibit your arrogance? I look at the radar and I understand where he is going: Kamine Island.

_**Tohdoh**_

This guy is really good, that Guilford, but I am a stubborn person as well, so we continue our endless fight. When Zero gives his final speech before leaving, I was paying attention to Guilford, so I didn't listened to it, but I think that it inspired me in some way, since my energies are coming back.

Shots appear at his Gloucester's feet and I notice two of my better soldiers here: Asahina and Senba. Guilford starts to fall back to the Britannian lines, leaving only me, greatly tired.

"Colonel, are you alright?"

"Yes... what is the situation?"

"We are moving quite fast and getting closer to the bureau as we speak. The resistance seems to be getting weaker as well."

"I see...Hum..." I say, feeling the pain in my body from the fight.

"Are you okay sir?" Senba says, worried.

"Just some muscular pain from the fight with Guilford."

"I bet that Chiba would love to give you a massage."

"No jokes now." I say, trying to ignore the pain. "Alright, let's finish this assault so we can rest for a while before Schneizel arrives."

"Yes sir!"

I don't know why, but now I have this bad feeling that something might happen now that we are so close to achieve our goal. I try to ignore it like the pain, but it insists to stay there, no matter what I do.

"Kami, don't let this moment to be destroyed... please."

I have never been a very religious man, but now I have this fear inside me, something that I can't explain quite well. I pray that it is just a bad feeling, nothing more than this.

_**Schneizel**_

The situation is out of control now in Area 11, with the remaining forces of the bureau trying to defend it with all their might, but they can't last long. The reinforcements from Area 12 were ordered by the High Cardinal to go to the Chinese ssea and to wait.

"Sir, we were informed that Prince Lelouch left the battle."

"What? Why would he do such a..."

"Orders from above him."

"Who gave such orders?"

"Well..."

Could be that he is trying to give Area 11 to the Elevens? What is the Prophet thinking when he gives such orders? I have to stop that man before is too late.

"Give me a line with the Emperor, now!"

"Yes sir!" The operator tries to contact the Homeland, but he gets nothing. "Sir, seems like the Emperor is unavailable right now."

Is he in that place? Why now of all times he choose to be there? No matter what he is doing, someone needs to stop that 'saint' man before he brings ruin to the Britannians.

"Sir, a call for you." Kanon appears. "It is from him."

"What in hell are you thinking?" I almost scream to the phone.

"Relax, it was all predicted."

"I don't care about it! First you tell me to don't engage the enemy."

"I had my reasons."

"So tell me."

"An European fleet is getting out of Russia in this very moment. If you change your route slightly, you will be able to engage them before they can even get close to Area 11."

"What?"

"And the reinforcements from Area 12 are going to stop the Chinese Federation from getting their hands on Area 11 as well."

"Wait, but any information got to us."

"Like I said, it was all predicted, even the battle in Tokyo."

"Then who is going to provide backup to them?"

"You'll see, young prince."

Suddenly, hundreds of marks appear in the Tokyo bay, all of them belonging to Britannia. It can't be... he sent the Knights of Saint Arthur to fight in Area 11? Could it be that... he really predicted it all?

_**Tohdoh**_

"Tohdoh! Hundreds of enemy submarines are in the bay!" Katase screams to me.

"Submarines? Why we didn't..."

"They were... using some kind of stealth... something that even the Druid System can't see."

There are hundreds of Knightmares getting in land by boats and even from this distance I see something similar to a aircraft carrier, but it can goes below water like a submarine. Bombardiers start to get off it and attack our units and the rear line starts to fight the newcomers, suffering great loses in the process.

"From where did they come..." Captain Sanada from the 7th Squad can't finish his sentence when he is killed.

"Who is closest to Katase and Kaguya-sama?" I ask anyone.

"It's me."

"Urabe, get them out of that G-1 and leave in the submarine! We need Kyoto alive!"

"But sir..."

"That's an order! Kururugi, Kouzuki, give support to them in the evacuation of Kyoto, now!"

"Yes sir!"

"Rakshata, where is the submarine?"

"I can get it to the Sagami Bay."

"Do it! Diethard, get all the Intel that you can and destroy what you can't . Leave in the submarine as well!"

"What about you?" Katase says.

"Me and the Squads of the Holy Swords are going to defend the rest while they escape."

"Sir..." Urabe tries to say something, but I cut him.

"We need this whole thing to survive! If all of us die or are captured, who is going to free Japan?"

"Y-Yes sir!"

Can we contact Zero?"

"He is too far now and they are jamming our signal."

"Shit. This thing of Lelouch leaving the place... was a trap for him and we felt right on it."

"No!" Kouzuki says. "We need to help him!"

"It's too late now."

The enemies appear before me with a new type of Knightmare: looks like a mixture of the Lancelot with the Gloucester. I start to give them combat, but they are superior to the Gloucesters and Sutherlands and are a lot. Soon enough, we are beaten and the ejection seats start to fly from all the place.

I get out of my cockpit only to be surrounded by those Knightmares. There is no way back now: Britannia defeated us all and we can't fight back. I get on my knees and I do what I would swore to never do again:

"I surrender."

I just hope that Zero isn't caught, because if he is, then the hope to free Japan is practically gone. Zero, wherever you are, escape!

_**Suzaku**_

They appeared so fast that I can't even believe that some minutes ago we were winning this fight, but now... Jeremiah continues to attack me, even with all the other troops arriving from the bay.

I decide that, if I have to go down, I will go down with style. There is no way that I can help Lucian now, besides defeating Jeremiah, so I do a suicide move: I attach my Harkens in the orange frame and I set the Lancelot to detonate itself.

Hopefully for me, Rakshata installed a ejection system, so I use it before the explosion. The explosion destroys the machine completely, leaving no trace of it, but it destroys my Lancelot as well.

It pains me to see it being destroyed like that, m first and probably last Knightmare. There is no way they won't execute me after that, so I must at least accept my fate. I know that Lucian will take care of Euphie and Nunnaly after I am gone and that he will continue to protect Japan as well.

"This wasn't that bad of a life." I say, closing my eyes. "Goodbye, Oni-san."

_**Lucian**_

"We have arrived." C.C says ad I see the transport that Lelouch used to get here.

"He came alone?"

"I don't know, but you still must be careful."

"Stay here, just in case."

"I should go with you or..." She covers his right eye and screams.

"C.C?"

"It's happening!" I sense something similar to what happened when we made our contract and light fills my eyes.

I see scenes of death one after the other, but they all have something in common: C.C is dying in all of the. Being shot, burned in a stake, tortured, having her head cut by a guillotine.

"What is this?"

"Visions from my past."

"You..."

"I am an Immortal, so the flow of time is meaningless to a person like me. Those are the memories that I can remember better, but the rest is gone now. Those who hated, loved or were indifferent to me are all dead now. Even those who called me a witch are now gone. I am all alone."

"No." She launches me a surprised face. "I'm with you now."

"Lucian..."

"If you are a witch, then I am a warlock."

"Odd thing to say now."

The whole visions are gone now and I see that C.C isn't moving a muscle now. I am worried about what happened to her, so I try to talk to her.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes... but thank you."

"For what?"

"For caring."

I get out of the cockpit and so does she, but I don't say anything. We walk past the entrance of the cave and I can see him up the place that was destroyed in the last time I was here. We move in his directions, but I see that he has two more people in there with him and they make me stop.

"What?"

"Hello Zero, or should I say Lucian?"

"You bastard..."

"Calm yourself now. You don't want your sisters to be hurt, do you?"

With him, Emily and Alice are tied with chains and their mouths covered. I fell all my suppressed anger against him and I move without thinking and I attack him, so I don't see a woman appearing at my side and throwing me on the floor. Next she press someplace in my chest, making me losing the movements of my members.

"Now Lucian, shall I begin?" He gets out from up there and goes to C.C, who was knocked down by the blonde woman. "I'll show you a little trick that I learned from a friend of mine."

"Leave them all alone!"

"Sorry, but I can't do this." He puts C.C on her knees and grabs both sides of her head. "Now, I will get what I deserve most: IMMORTALITY!"

The symbol on C.C's head glows and lines start to go to Lelouch, making the same symbol appear in his chest as his clothes are burnt down. After he finishes, C.C is there crying and Lelouch is laughing insanely.

"This is amazing! I can feel the power going inside me!"

"Now take care of her." The woman says to him.

"But of course." He says, breaking C.C's neck and I see her head in the wrong way.

Hate blinds me, so I don't notice when I am put in front of him on my knees and he looks at me. I beg that he kills me right here and now, otherwise I will do it with him.

"You know the best part? I still have my Geass until I die for the first time and the Code activates. So I have a little order for you now." A Geass sigil appears in his right eye. "Now it's done."

"What have you done with me?"

"Nothing of much importance: I give you the idea to live, no matter what."

"What?"

"My Geass allows me to 'plant' ideas in people's minds, similar to what you do. The difference is that they accept the command fully and it doesn't wear off after the order is done, different from your Geass, so I can even change personalities with it."

"Why did you ordered e to live?"

"Simple." He looks at Alice, setting her free from her chains as the woman press points on my chest again and I feel the movement of my arms and legs. "Kill your dear brother or die trying."

* * *

Blood is all over my hands now and I can smell it too. Two tiny bodies are lying in the ground with all their life gone. I tremble as I look at my hands with horror from what I did to 'live'.

"You now have suffered all the loses that you could: your family, your home and even your dear Black Knights are being destroyed right now."

"I..."

"Here." He hands me a pistol. "End you suffering for the eternity."

I grab the pistol and I point it to my mouth, hoping that they will forgive me in the afterlife. I pull the trigger.

_**Epilogue**_

"So the attack to the Black Knights was successful?"

"Yes, you Holiness, it was. We have now under arrest most of the surviving members as well as most of Kyoto."

"Euphemia and Nunnaly?"

"Gone to somewhere with the remains of them."

"Hum... and the special package from Lelouch?"

"Delivered to the research station on Russia."

"Leave me now and do me a last favor: Call me Zevon and tell him that it is urgent."

"Yes sir." The servant leaves the room.

Just like it was predicted, Lelouch played his role in getting to Lucian and now all the tasks for the benefit for the plan are complete. It disgusts the man t use such a person for his plan, but it was predicted in that way for Morgana.

The man is wearing quite rich clothes: clothes that resemble an armor in the colors of a deep purple and some pieces of blue with a one-sided Britannian cape in red and black. His clothes have a hood that is covering his head and a black and red mask covers his face, like the one used by Balduino IV during one of the Crusades.

He awaited long enough for this day, the day that his plan starts to get fruits. He tricked a lot of people to get where he is now and he even killed for it, all to achieve the plan. Even the Emperor never caught his real intentions before it was too late to notice.

"You called me, Your Sanctity?" Oiaguro Zevon, head of the Zevon family and leade of Pluton, enters the room.

"Yes, I have a urgent matter to talk with you now."

"What it is?"

"It came to my ears that you were supporting the terrorist group called Peace Mark for quite some time."

"I would never..."

"You can't deny it. It was predicted by me that this day would come."

"Then why...?"

"I didn't dealt with you earlier? Because it wasn't the time." And it wasn't going to help with my plan.

"Are you going to send me to receive the penitence of ice and fire?"

"No... I'll deal with you myself, so your family won't have any stain."

That being said, the Prophet runs towards him and reveals a hidden blade from his right arm, stabbing Oiaguro right in his neck. The man tries to breath as blood comes from his throat, but he soon is dead.

"May God have mercy on your soul." The prophet says, closing the eyes of the corpse. He uses his interphone to call someone to clean the mess and to get rid of it. After that, the man that just killed another one looks at the window, thinking about all that he had done so far, all to make it possible: The ascension of the King.

"The Dark King must rise."

There is a storm coming from the window and the world doesn't know yet, but a much larger one is coming, one that will destroy the whole world.

Or save it from doom.

* * *

_Hi guys, here is CaioOP1985 and I want to thank all of those who joined Lucian in the beginning and have been reading this fan fiction until now. At the beginning, this whole thing wasn't fully formed as it ended up, so I really hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it. The first arc of the story is done now and We must go to the R2 now. I will continue to write here instead of creating another story, so continue reading, please._

_I would like to thanks some people that helped me during the way (I know it is stupid, but what can I do?): __**war sage**__ for commenting almost all of the chapters so far; __**RaiZero **__for helping me with a lot of things. __**NSBleach00 **__for letting me to take some characters from his fan fiction._

_That's it guys. I hope that You all liked this and that you join Lucian (or not) in R2._


	26. Turn 01: The Caged Demon

**Turn 01:**

**The Caged Demon**

**02 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**42**_

Two boys are together, running in a flower field during a sunny day. The first one has a brown short hair and runs with a carefree smile. The second one has an ebony hair and purple eyes, running after the first one. They both stop at the vision of something: planes flying in the horizon and, before they know, the whole place is on fire. I try to get to them, but the fire is on my way, so when I finally get to where they are, I see two bodies, but not from the boys. Two girls lie there, covered in red blood and I know who killed them. I see him there, laughing at my disgrace...

"Wake up!" I open my eyes to see a face with blue eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Late, but I saved some food for you from the breakfast."

"Thanks." I grab the bread from his hands and I try to eat it without breaking my teeths. "Something happened in my sleep?"

"You were talking again the same words as before."

"I see..." It is always when I have this dream. "So one more day in Hell, right?"

"Seems like it." After I finish my rock disguised as a bread, he gets up from the cot reserved to me in our cell. "You won't need the coat today, it is pretty hot outside."

"Thanks for the advise." I say while I get dressed in my prisoner uniform and I put the coat that I got from a dead prisoner not so long ago, just to be sure.

The coat is necessary for the survival of anyone that plans to be outside the prison walls, since here in the middle of Siberia the temperature can get really low during the nine months of winter, but now it is summer, so the temperatures are a little high.

My cell companion is waiting for me in the exit of the building, so we get outside and I see the sun in the sky, a very rare thing for me in the last times. I tie my coat in my hip and I appreciate it a little.

"It almost makes me happy to work outside." He says with a ghost of a smile and playing with his silver hair.

"Only in those days, not the rest of the year." I say to him.

In this place, you have to work into something to pay for your crime, which can be anything. The newcomers usually start in the mines outside the walls or breaking rocks from the prison's quarry, killing almost everyone during the long winter. If you are lucky enough or have some degree of intelligence, you can do something inside like work in the library, the infirmary or the refectory.

Me and my cell friend are two of those people: I work with the administration of the place and he works in the maintenance of the boiler. They aren't exactly pleasant works, but it is much better than to work in the mines or the quarry.

"Enjoying the sun?" I hear a voice that could belongs to a bear behind me and I know immediately from who it belongs.

Nikolai Orelov used to be a mercenary at the service of a terrorist organization called Peace Mark, but he was captured when the main sponsor of it disappeared. He has very large shoulders and he has more than two meters, making him a monster when he walks. He isn't using a shirt, so I see all the scars that fill his body, all from his previous battles, hunts and women. He also has a blonde hair and a mustache up his mouth, that make a good, yet strange, pair with his gray eyes.

"The only sun allowed to us during this year." My companion says to him, smiling.

"I like to work outside just for those days." Nikolai says, laughing.

"To compensate it, during the rest of the years you can freeze if you don't move enough." I say, melancholic.

"Put a smile on your face for once boy." He says, grabbing my face and forcing a smile.

"Stop it!" I put his hands away from me.

"You should really smile more to the wonders of the world."

"Humph... I should have left you in the middle of the snow."

"I am glad that you can't go back in time, otherwise I would be screwed."

"Hahaha..." I give him a sarcastic laugh.

During the fourth month working here, he fells tired when we were getting back from the mines and the guard told us to leave him to die there, but I refused this order. I grabbed him and carried him to the prison, taking care of him until he recovered. Now he is grateful to me and always want to give me advices in anything.

"You know what we all need? The paradise between a woman's legs. Its been a whole year since I met one."

"Like anyone could accept to have you." I say to him, avoiding his fist.

"I can't say anything about it." The third man says. "I've never met one."

"How could a guy from a noble family of Britannia have never even fuc..."

"I am a half-breath, remember? From a Britannian and an Eleven."

Even now this word makes me fell shame. The man that I used to be would argue against the use of it, but he is dead now, just like all the people that I was one day. Now my name is 42, a prisoner from a Russian political prison.

"Even a handsome man like you? Man, those Britannian women could learn a thing or two with old Nikolai here."

"Or they would run away from you."

Nikolai tries to grab his head, but he manages to avoid him and they start a dance of cat and rat. It ends with no winners as they stop to rest for a while.

"We sure are a strange group: a mercenary with nothing besides his scars, a nobleman who is rejected by his own country and... what the hell are you anyway?" Nikolai asks me.

"The old me is dead. Now I'm just 42."

"A hell of a name, but easy to remember, just like Rai here."

Rai Amsel, or Rai Sumeragi, is an half-breath born from both Britannian and Japanese royalty, but he spent his life being treated like dirty, all because of his Japanese ascension.

Suddenly I fell a acute pain from a blow received in the left of my head and I fall to the floor. The world is spinning around me and I can see three Rais in front of me. When I get a little better, I see that some guys that were playing football are receiving some screams from Nikolai for kicking the ball in my head for accident.

I could avoid the ball with ease, if I could see it. My left eye is covered with an eye patch, but this one is specially designed to for people like me. You can't put it off without a key and it bears a bird-like sigil on it.

"I hate this." I say while I pass my hand in the hit side.

"I know the feeling." He says, since he has one as well, but in his right eye.

"Cock suckers!" Orelov comes back to us, red like a tomato. "They should really pay attention to where they kick that shit."

"You can't blame them for enjoying some of the sun." Rai tells him.

"Humph... I should make them play with their own balls."

"I would toast to that." I say, moody.

* * *

The priest gives us his lecture of the day about how merciful God is and other things of the same caliber, but I don't buy it. After all that happened in my life, I can't just believe that a God exists and if he does, I don't want to idolizes him.

Nikolai is sleeping at my side, snoring a little too loud for a 'saint' place, but there are a lot of men like him, so the priest doesn't care and continues on. Rai is drawing in his notebook and I see a man that is very similar to him: his father.

Rai's father was killed when he was eight, killed by the family who rejected him for getting a half-breath son. Then Rai joined an Order that trained him to become an agent for them, but they were attacked by the Knights of Saint Arthur, a group of Knights at the service of the Eden Vital Order and Rai was captured and sent here, just some time after I arrived.

The Eden Vital Order is the one paying for the expenses of the prison, so all the men inside it have to listen to a priest in his long sermons. There are some that really believe on it, but the majority of the prisoners don't care about this whole religious thing. I just wish that I could finish this day already, but at the same time I fear the sleep, since I will end up dreaming.

The best part of it all is that I can't end up my life, all because of that man. I have been trying for the last year, but I am right here, so you know the results of my attempts.

I decide to just live in this place for the rest of my life, paying for all my sins from the past. I give up my old dream, since I don't believe on it anymore and because I have lost everything because of it: family, my home and even the person who I used to be.

I never knew what happened to my former comrades, but they are probably dead or under arrest. For those that had escaped from it, I sincerely hope that they can hide themselves from Britannia's wrath.

_**The Fallen Princess**_

I look at the maps that our mysterious contributor gave to us together with the assignment. It has to be true what those papers tell us, otherwise we are doomed. This is the last chance to retrieve what was stolen from us, or the fate of this whole world will change.

"Viewing those papers again?" My sister appears in her wheelchair.

"It needs to be perfect, otherwise it'll be in vain."

"I agree with you, but all that we can do now is to wait until tomorrow." My sisters shows a sad face. "I wish that I could be with you."

"I know, but you can't do anything with your legs in that way."

"I hate that man for what he had done to me and to... her." Even spell her name hurts my sister.

"I know, believe me, I know how much you loved her."

"How could... that abomination should have been killed in his cradle."

"Yeah... maybe that would be better for everyone." I look back to the papers when another member of our group arrives, the one that with the codename OZ.

"I made the arrangements for our escape in the train."

"Good!" I say without getting the eyes from the maps. "How is Urabe?"

"He has already chose the people who will be in the assault with us."

"How many?"

"45, if you count me, you, Urabe, Akito and Ze Dien."

"That's a good number, I hope."

"We'll find out tomorrow." OZ says to me and leaves the room.

"Are you sure about joining with them? They are to be terrorists." My sister says to me, launching an inquiring look at me.

"Yes, but so do us, Cornelia." I say, sighting after this affirmation. "And we are going to rescue the biggest of all the terrorists."

**03 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**42**_

"Look at those little cuties." Nikolai points to some Knightmares that have arrived. "7th Generation mass production Knightmares."

"I thought that Britannia already had a mass production type: the Edinburg." Rai says, looking at him.

"Yes, but this one is cheaper than it and the Edinburg doesn't belongs to Britannia, but to the Eden Vital Oder."

"Same shit." I say, not getting my eyes from my book for even a second.

The prison is also a military base, so Knightmares are a common vision around here, specially since Britannia conquered Russia. Prince Schneizel and... the Emperor went into war with the European Union and the African Republic, conquering large amounts of territory from them.

This new model is the Vincent, a Knightmare based on the Lancelot... no, I must not think on him. He is gone and I can't recover the time that we passed together...

"Someone needs to cut his hair." Nikolai says to me, maybe for more than a thousand of times, as he sees my long hair.

"I don't care about it."

"You are looking a girl that way boy."

"Like I said, I don't care."

I stopped cutting my hair when I arrived here, so now it is long and they don't see shampoo for quite some time, so they are a little oily. Other thing is the fluff that now covers my face, but this one he doesn't complains.

* * *

I am doing my normal jobs in the administration buildings when the whole place shakes and alarms start to ring. This can means just two things: an accident had just happened and we need to evacuate the building or someone is attacking the place.

Soldiers arrive to get me out of this place, just like I thought. This isn't the first assault to the prison, since it is a military base, and the last time they got me out of here, just to prevent me for getting caught. It is not that I am valuable, but dangerous to Britannia, so they just can't even allow anyone to get near me with the intentions of freeing me.

We move to the chopper and I see Rai coming as well, since he is also a threat to Britannia. What confuses me is the vision of Nikolai being guided as well. Last time this happened, he wasn't moved together with us, so why...

"Hurry up! Move you filthy Numbers!" The director of the prison, a big fat man that thinks he is the owner of the world, says to us.

"Just like always: trying to save your skin." Nikolai spills in his boots.

"You... I'll show you what I do with people like you."

"No, you won't. We are important enough to be moved, so it might be a problem if you touch him."

"Shut up! We need to get into the chopper before..." he never ends his sentence, due to the explosion of the helicopter behind him, killing him in the blow.

Four Knightmares appear in front of me: a pink colored Gloucester, a white one that resembles in some way the Guren, another white, but so different from any that I ever saw, and a Gekka. They all stop in front of the three of us and the Knightmares get on their knees, confusing the my comrades, but I know the reason.

"We came to get you out of here." The pilot of the Gloucester says to me.

"Sorry, but I can't help you, no matter who you are."

"We can't let you to stay here any longer, sir" The one on the Gekka says.

"What is happening?" Nikolai says to me.

"If it is necessary, we'll drag you by force, since we don't have much time." The Guren like starts to move to me, but he is stopped by the Gloucester.

"No! I'll take care of it." The cockpit starts to open and I see a woman with pink hair getting out of it. "It's been some time, brother."

"Euphemia? What are you...?"

"We don't have time for this now." She says, stopping in front of me. "We need to get you out of this place as soon as we can."

"Sorry, but with those things restraining me..." She gets some device from her pocket and he touches the eye patch and I fell it falling into the floor. "What?"

"We really need to go now."

"Sorry, but I can't."

"Can someone please explain to me what is happening here?" Nikolai tries to get some answers, but he is ignored again.

"Why?"

"I know what you want from me and I won't do it, not again. I've lost everything because for what I did, so I will never wear that mask again." She slaps my face and I can fell the place getting hot. I look at her, surprised by her action.

"That is exactly why you can't give up. To honor those who have died because of it, you can't stop now, Lucian."

She is the first person that calls me by me own name in a long time and it brings back memories: Suzaku and me in Ashford playing with Arthur; Kallen showing her new handmade lunch; Milly and Rivalz laughing from some stupid joke; Nina and me discussing some theories about physics. This is all in the past now and they are all dead or out of my reach.

"Suzaku would be ashamed of you!" She says while tears come down from her face. "You are now a mere ghost of what you used to be."

I have been trying to forget all of it, but now this invisible lock is gone and I remember the promise that I have made: to create a world of true peace. I come to the realization that she is right: for the sake of those who have died, I must move forward, no matter my sins or what the future holds.

I laugh insanely as this realization comes to my mind. With this I finally accept my fate as a demon and as a sinner. Now is the time that my enemies have been fearing for so long:

The demon is free again.

_**Zero**_

"Thanks sister."

"You are welcome." She says with a smile.

Before Nikolai can complain again, I explain to him shortly the whole story and to Rai as well. They are surprised that I was Zero the whole time, but when I ask them to come along, they accept without a second thought.

"How many men do we still have?"

"32."

"Any plan to get out?"

"Yes."

"Tell me after I get inside that Knightmare." I point to the three Vincents near the chopper. I get the Black one while Rai gets the gold and Nikolai gets the white.

"I think that I should present myself: I'm Orpheus Zevon, but you should call me OZ during missions. I use the Knightmare Byakuen." The Guren like pilot says.

"Akito Hyuuga. Alexander is my frame." the other white one.

"Urabe here." The pilot of the Gekka speaks. "It's good to have you again, Zero."

"Same here. Now let's show the world that Zero is alive!"

The plain is quite simple: we will use chaff smoke to scream with any detection equipments and to get out of here into a train that is waiting for us, exploding the base in the process. the prison cell's won't be affected with it.

We start to move to pass the lines where the explosives are and I hear cheering from the people that is fighting against the Britannian troops. We all start to move back to escape, but a Hadrons Blast destroy two of our men. In the sky we see the responsible for it: a huge red airship with a Knightmare on top of it, the one who launched the blast.

"The Glinda Knights!"

"What?" I ask.

"Britannia's special anti-terrorists unit. How did they got here that fast?"

"Fall back! We can't fight them with the power that we have now." Urabe says with wisdom.

We continue to move and to avoid the attacks from that new model in the ship, but Sutherlands and Gloucesters start to get out from the ship. By the time we pass the lines of explosives, we have lost 13 Burais from what we had before.

The explosions fill the air with heat and chaff smoke, confusing the enemies that no longer can find us. We move forward to the escape vehicle: a cargo train that is already on the move, so we have to jump on its opened doors with the Knightmares. I manage to enter it and no one has problems with that as well.

"This is how you live." Nikolai says as he gets out of his new frame.

Before I get out, a blonde girl appears with some clothes: the ones that Zero uses. Euphie gives it to me from a little space on the cockpit and I get dressed inside there.

When I get out, I am fully Zero again and the ones inside this wagon show their happiness. I am ready to become Zero once more and, I hope, in the end I will be on top of Lelouch, with him begging for mercy.

"What now, Zero?" Euphie asks me.

"We have unfinished business in that place and I would like to see how Britannia has been treating it. We'll move to Area 11!"


	27. Turn 02: The Fall of Babel

**Turn 02:**

**The Fall of Babel**

**03 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Zero**_

The train continues his travel in the inhospitable Siberians plains in his way to the Pacific, from where we will be able to get a boat and march to Area 11. But first I must deal with something: who knows about my identity as Zero and who are those new people that went to my rescue.

I enter the wagon that is being used as the command room for the "Black Knights" now that we are escaping. Inside there I see some faces that I recognize from the past: Kosetsu Urabe, former captain of the 4th squad of the Black Knights; Rai Cranston and Nikolai Orelov, the friends that I have met in the prison; Euphemia li Britannia, my half sister and... Cornelia? What she is doing here, and in a wheelchair! I don't recognize a blonde girl with purple eyes sitting in a couch with that guy Akito Hyuuga and I can see the one called Orpheus leaning on the wall.

"Hah! The great leader is here!" As always, Nikolai has a very good temper.

"Shut up." I say as I sit on the ouch at Euphie's side. "So... who inside this room doesn't know my true face?"

"No one, sir." The unknown blonde girl answers. "We all know about your story as a Britannian prince."

"Who are you?"

"I'm sorry about not introducing myself: I am Leila Malkal, former Lieutenant Colonel of the E.U."

"And why aren't you with them?"

"The current E.U is a ghost of what it used to be, reduced to less his original territory. Even the capital, Paris, was conquered by Britannia, so I had to join forces with the Black Knights."

"I see... and you?" I ask to Orpheus.

"I used to be part of Peace Mark, but the Wizard, our former leader, disappeared and so did the money funding our group. Most of our members were executed or arrested and we also had to join these vestige of the original Black Knights."

"How did you all ended up joining this group? It is strange that stories so different had ended the same way."

"I found them and I made it possible." Euphie says to me.

"Very well." I say, taking off my mask and uncovering my face. "I think that I don't need to hide myself anymore, at least not so much."

Cornelia makes a movement that shows anger and she looks away from me, like I am some disgusting creature. I know that she must hate me for all those fights against each other, so why she is here?

"Lucian, I think that we..."

"Zero. My name is Zero now."

"What?"

"Lucian died a year ago, when his sisters were killed. Now I am only Zero."

"Okay... if you say so. Anyway, I think that I must explain to you how we ended up here."

"I would appreciate."

"When the Eden Vital Order appeared and defeated the Black Knights during the Black Rebellion, Urabe appeared to get Kyoto out of the country in the submarine. Sadly, the only member that wasn't caught by Britannia was Kaguya."

"So I must assume that the rest were executed by Britannia?"

"Yes, they were. Kaguya saved me and Nunnaly when she gave the order to get us from there as well. Rakshata Chawla and Diethard Ried are free as well."

"This is something."

"Before we continue, I need to ask you something, Zero." Cornelia looks at me with eyes that could melt the whole Antarctica. "How Lady Marianne died? I want the truth."

"There's a problem with this Cornelia."

"If it is Geass, everyone inside this room knows about it."

"What?" Nikolai and me say at the same time, but for different reasons.

"Almost everyone."

"How?"

"We all discovered about it in various ways." Euphie says to me.

"I see... then you already know the answer, Cornelia."

"I want to hear from your mouth that it was really Lelouch that... that..."

"Marianne herself said that Lelouch did something strange to her. She died when he shot her with a Gloucester's assault rifle."

"The Emperor killed his own mother? That is really insane." Malkal says.

Emperor... I guess that this is what Lelouch is now, probably because of Geass: 99th Emperor of the Holy Empire of Britannia, Lelouch vi Britannia. There is no way that Charles would have chose him with Schneizel or Odisseus. He must have used Geass in all the members of the Royal Family and the Knights of Rounds to make sure that he would become the new one. I wonder why he wants this now that he is immortal...

"How can I know that it wasn't you the one who used Geass?"

"If I did, then why I joined the SAZ? Why Lelouch is the Emperor now when anyone would have chose his older brothers?"

"So it is true... he killed his mother just... just..." Tears start to fill her face and Euphie touches her hand.

"Believe in me, I know how much of a bastard he can be. I won't stop until he pay for his crimes."

"Because of him I can't walk anymore! That monster must die!"

"To make things shorter for everyone, I will resume what happened during this year that passed: we went to the Chinese Federation and I start to look for you and gather allies to recreate the Black Knights, but Britannia is making my efforts almost useless."

"Let me guess: Lelouch changed the system in the Areas."

"The Numbers now face a work system that is almost slavery and there is human traffic everywhere in the colonies."

"Lelouch is really a demon in human flesh." Urabe says.

"It's good to see you Urabe."

"Same here, Zero."

"What happened to the other members of the Black Knights?"

"Tohdoh and the rest of the Holy Swords were arrested, like almost everyone else. Suzaku disappeared after the battle and no one heard about him since the incident."

Suzaku... I don't know what to think now. He is my brother more than Lelouch or any other prince, so I have to find out what happened to him, even if he is dead. Euphie shows a sad face as she hears about him, leaving me more resolved about finding him.

"Katase... died in the Rebellion." Urabe says.

This is a blow, I must admit. He was a good man and a good commander, but also a person that you could rely on. I swear to myself that I will avenge him when I destroy Britannia.

* * *

I had to explain to Nikolai about Geass and stuff after the meeting, so now it is probably night outside the train, but I can't say for sure since we have no windows in the wagons (not that I expected). I need to take care of something now: cut my hair and shave myself. The main problem was to find someone that could do the job, but Rai offered himself to do it.

I had my worries about this, but after he finishes, I can see my hair like he used to be, without a single difference. I don't like it that way so much nowadays, since I look a double of Lelouch, but I am going to use my mask most the time, so it doesn't really matter how I look.

"Pretty good job here. How did you know so much?"

"I used to do it for my sister." He says, showing some of a pian in his eyes.

Rai's sister... I heard about her a lot from him since we started to share a cell. According to him, she was the reason for his life, just like... they were for me. When his father was killed, so was his sister and he decided to get revenge against the family that did it to him, achieving it at his 13. I know better than anyone what revenge can do with the person, so I know how he felt...

"Hey... are you sure about fighting with me? I mean..."

"You are my friend and that is enough reason."

"Thanks."

"And there is something that I must tell you about that Orpheus guy."

"What it is?"

"He used to be part of the Geass Order, just like me."

"As an assassin? OR other thing?"

"Yes... each agent with Geass had a codename based on his Geass power, that was actually used to designate the power of the person."

"And Orpheus was?"

"The Shifter. His power allows him to take the appearance of any person that he chooses."

"Any weakness?"

"I don't know about that."

"And your Geass is...?"

"The Ice. You know what it do."

"Pretty well. I think that I must find a name for mine."

"The King." I look at him with a bit of surprise for the quick answer. "You can give any order and people have to obey, no matter what they might think."

"The King... I think that I like it." I say, smiling a little bit. "And Suzaku would be 'The Shield', because of his ability of absolute defense."

"It is good for me."

I have never felt this way with anyone else, besides Suzaku. It is good to have a person like Rai with me and he is a valuable asset to my future plans. His strategic abilities outmatch mines and he is also a good Knightmare pilot, from his talks and what he showed during the short time that he spent with his new Vincent..

Now all that we need to do is to get to Area 11 safely and to see how it is now, after Lelouch becomes the Emperor. I fear what I might find, but I must see it in order to free Japan from that name that was imposed to it.

_**The Prophet**_

"Are you sure about it?"

"Yes, your Holiness, we are. The prison had just sent a report about the extraction of those three prisoners and the new models that were in the prison as well."

"And the Glinda Knights?"

"They have sent a report about what happened to the Emperor."

"I bet that Lelouch became really happy about it." I sigh and I look at my desk. "You can leave now."

"Yes, my lord."

So Euphemia released Lucian from his prison after all, what was not a surprise with all the help that I gave to her. Three new models of a mass-production model sent to that place? Does they really think that it was a coincidence?

Someone asks for entrance in my office and I grant it for my most loyal Knight: Michael Steinburg. He used to be part of the Glinda Knights before becoming my personal Knight and he is one of the few that knows all the plan.

"Sir, I've just talked with Princess Marrybell."

"Anything useful?"

"They don't know about the person that they let go, only that they were high dangerous individuals."

"More than just dangerous, but this was also predicted."

"I know. What do you command now?"

"You will be deployed to Area 11 with the Glinda Knights and Marrybell."

"For what?"

"Marrybell will be the next viceroy of Area 11."

"But Calares is... I see."

"You need to be careful there, considering how it will become."

"Yes sir." He leaves the room and I take off my mask and I lie down in the couch, completely exhausted.

"Who would guess that the great Prophet is only mortal." A man enters my office without identifying himself, but I see that he is Salvatore.

"What do you want?"

"I just want you to know that the Immortal, A.A, has completed the surgery."

"So now she has her new toy?"

"Perfectly well."

"Humph, This might cause unnecessary troubles."

"Who can deny anything to our dear Emperor?"

"The boy is just a mean to an end, you know that well. Anyway, how is your research going?"

"It will take some years to fully put it into use, but it will be ready for the advent of the Dark King."

"It better be, otherwise the White King is going to win and we lose everything."

"Do not worry: I've come too far to let it fail now. I won't let her sacrifice be forgotten."

My hearth stops every time that he mentions her, my first and unique true love. She was his love as well, until the day that she completed her role in the plan.

"Don't worry, it won't." I say while I lay down again.

"Each week that pass you get older."

"So do you."

He laughs a little and leave the room and I can feel my headaches coming back. They are getting worst each day and this one is a huge pain, making my thoughts become a big blank. After it pass, I can only agree about what Salvatore said about me. Time is something that I don't have, so I must make sure that, in the end, I can bring the Dark King to this world and that he is ready to rule.

**09 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Zero**_

"So we finally arrive."

"Yes, Area 11." Euphie says at my side.

It has been a year since the last time I have stepped in this land, but I can see that a lot has changed. The whole place was rebuilt after the destruction caused by the Black Rebellion, so nothing is like it used to be.

We are in a shopping center that holds a special meaning to me: in this very same place, Ashford Academy ended and my old life as well. As I look around, I can see all the students running and playing around the campus, Milly ordering me around, Rivalz and his motorcycle, Nina and her computer... all gone.

"Are you okay?" Rai says to me, looking worried.

"This place used to be my home, now it is nothing more than a memory."

"Lucian..." Euphie says, but I make her stop. Lucian is gone and only Zero remains.

"How are the preparations for the assault in Babel Tower?"

"We got everything prepared for it: Orpheus is infiltrated as a barman and Leila as a noble. I'll also be there as..." Rai says.

"A chess player that wants to challenge the 'Black King', the leader of the mafia around here."

"Do I have to be the bait?"

"I would do it, but my face is a little too know around here."

A gas airship will be used to get our soldiers in the tower and some of us will be inside to facilitate the rescue of all the men and women being used there.

"So everything is ready?"

"Yes, all that we need to do is to start the operation."

"Very well. Let's go back to the hideout."

All depends on this single assault: if we succeed, the name of the Black Knights will be well know to the world once more, but if we fail...

* * *

"May I come in?"

"Of course."

Euphie enters the office that I am using as my room and I see that she is wearing a pink uniform that was used by the Black Knights. Now that I think about it, how on earth...

"Hey, when did you started to know how to handle a Knightmare?"

"Cornelia taught me."

"Your over protective sister taught you how to handle a Knightmare properly?"

"Yes."

"Euphie... weren't you the one that don't like to kill people?"

"I still dislike it... but I had no other choice than to do it."

"Why?"

"After your disappearance, I had to take care of Nunnaly and reassemble what remained of the Black Knights, but anyone liked it in the beginning."

"I can imagine why."

"But I think that I did a great job."

"I have one more question: how did you discovered where I was?"

"Someone sent me all that it was necessary to discover it, as well as the means to escape."

"And you don't know who that person is?"

"No... but I made sure to check all the information on the papers and I made the plan with Cornelia."

"I see... you did a great job."

"Thanks."

What she said makes me worried... who that mysterious benefactor could be? To know in details where I was being captive, he must have a lot of power... but why he would want me out of my cell and free to be Zero again? Those questions do not have answer now, but I will discover them.

**10 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Rai**_

I don't like this at all! All the preparations were made, but I still not fully confident about it. This all needs to be perfect, or it will be in vain. Zero is with me inside the elevator, disguised as my bodyguard and wearing his Zero's clothes bellow his coat and carrying the mask and the cape inside the bag that he is carrying.

We get out the elevator to find the casino at the top of the tower, filled with people gambling and drinking. At the center, an arena was built and two Japanese are fighting against each other. This is a ugly scene, but all the Britannians are laughing at the vision of they killing each other with their fists.

"You know that you need to distract him as much as you can with the chess match, don't you?"

"Yes, I know my part well, thanks."

"Try to find where OZ and Leila are, just to be sure."

We enter the VIP area and I can clearly see our target: the Black King, the biggest smuggler and criminal of Area 11. I look around the place and I see Orpheus in the bar, serving some drinks and Leila next to him, pretending to laugh at the joke of a drunk noble. When they see us, they make the signal and start to move to their positions: Orpheus will go and free all the captives while Leila will get to the security room and shut off all cameras inside and deal with the building security.

On our way to the Black King, a bartender bumps in me and he starts to apologies himself. When he looks at me I see two green eyes and a sound of surprise behind me from Zero. The bartender looks at him and he lets the tray to fall, looking surprised to Zero. Zero's face can't be seen so well, but his eyes can be seen and the man must have recognize them somehow.

This is bad! If he recognizes Zero, we will need to change the whole plan over before... Zero makes a signal with his hands: the medium finger and the thumb together forming a circle. The bartender seems to understand it as he gets up and apologies again. He starts to move away to get the drinks that Zero asked him.

"Do you know that guy?"

"Pretty well. He is my brother."

"Does that mean... that guy was Suzaku? If that is true then..."

"We won't need to change the plan. In fact, his appearance only benefits us."

"Really?"

"Yes. All that we need to know is how he escaped from being arrested. I will take care of that while you do your part in the plan."

_**Zero**_

"Here is your drink sir." Suzaku hands a glass of wine to me and I grab it, looking right at the chess match.

"Thanks." I give it a sip without looking at him. "Can you stay a little, so we can talk?"

"Yes." He gets closer to me and he starts to whisper. "What in hell were you doing all this time?"

"I spent my time in a prison in Siberia, so I had some problems in getting back."

"How did you escaped?"

"Your girlfriend helped me."

"What? Euphie?"

"Yes, that one."

"And can I know what are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue the people that are being used, but I never thought that you would be one of them."

"I am surprised that this was my penitence instead of perpetual prison, like the others."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we have a plan all set up for this rescue."

"And I can be of any help?"

"You will probably be vital to it, now that I discovered about where you are."

"I see... I missed you."

"Same here, oni-san." Rai gives the Black King a check mate and I know that it is time to start the plan. "Let's start this whole thing now. Be ready."

"I can't let you get out of here with this stain in my curriculum." The Black King says.

"Oh... but you already has a lot of stains, right?" Rai says to him, smiling.

"What?"

"You sell people like they are merchandize and you use their fears to get more and more money. You make me disgusted!"

"Oh really?" He gets a gun from his pocket. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Me? Not so much. But I bet that this guy don't like it." I press a button and the suitcase that Rai was carrying explodes in a cloud of pink smoke.

I get my coat out and I put my mask and my cape and I am in my classic clothes once more. I changed its colors a little bit and now it is a light purple instead of a dark one, but the rest is the same. When the smoke wears down, all the Britannians scream when they realize who is there and I shoot the Black King's hand and he let the gun fall.

"What is happening here?" His bodyguards try to get their own guns, but Rai uses his Geass to kill them. His Geass is called 'The Ice' because it freezes time in a area, allowing the user to move freely around. Its only weakness is that the time that he can maintain his power on is quite limited.

"You are all witnesses: Zero is back!"

_**Suzaku**_

Lucian, he is back! I can't believe that he is really back as Zero! He left the people to leave the room as the whole building shakes and Burais start to come from the ceiling. Lucian starts to give orders and they all move, including the guy with silver hair.

"Leila, how is the situation of the security?" He speaks with someone probably with a communicator in his mask. "Understand. We'll start to move now."

"I'm itching for a good fight now!" A white Knightmare appears from the ceiling together with some more strange models. "When this whole thing is going to start, Zero?"

"As soon as the Army appears..." He stops talking and listen to something in the communicator. "They are already here."

"That fast? How is this even possible?" A voice comes from a Gekka that is among the Knightmares and I recognize Urabe on it.

"They probably have some reserve force in case something like that would happens." The pilot from a even stranger Knightmare speak.

"Don't worry, I have the whole thing assured." He tells everyone about where to go and what they are going to do. "OZ, how many people do we have to rescue? That many? It's fine, just wait for R2,R3 and R4 to arrive so you can use the Byakuen. S1, you go to the 21st floor whit the S Squad and hold the Britannians away."

"Yes sir!" Everyone starts to move as he gives his orders until a pink-colored Gloucester appears from the ceiling while a transport of another Knightmare appears from it. The Gloucester looks at me and Zero and it stops, opens its cockpit and I see a person that I have missed this whole time.

"Suzaku!" She gets to the floor and runs in my direction.

"Euphie!" I embrace her and I kiss her like I have never did before.

"Hum... sorry to interrupt the happy reunion, but we have the Army invading the building right now."

"Oh... sorry." She says, blushing but still near me.

"Let's leave this for later, okay?" I say to her.

"Sure... we will."

_**Zero**_

"R1, proceed fifty meters ahead and fire at the ceiling. P5, P6, destroy the stairs in the 8th floor. OZ, Q3 and Q5, open a hole below you and destroy the four Sutherlands."

They all follow my orders as the enemies try to get to the upper floors, but thanks to Leila, I know where all of them are at any moment. All that I need to do is to hold our position while viceroy Calares doesn't appears.

Calares... he is the one who killed Yukari eight years ago. Sometimes fate can favors you in so many ways that I gets astonished. I will be able to avenge her and kill the viceroy at the same time.

"Zero, there are reinforcements from Britannia thought the air and they have closed the only way out of here." Akito tells me.

"Does a G-1 Mobile Base is in the bridge?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

So he finally joins the party, that son of a bitch! This all means that our escape becomes impossible, but that is why I win.

"E1, how are you doing?" I ask Euphie about the explosives.

"Almost there."

"Very well. Suzaku, R1, N1 and OZ, proceed with me to the lower floors! Leila, get the hell out of there before the reinforcements get to you! Everyone, go down to the 25th floor and make sure the prisoners are safe!"

_**Rai**_

Three Sutherlands appear before me and seek combat. I don't exactly have time to fight all of them, so I create it with my Geass. They all stop while I cut them with my double MVS and the second the Geass is turned off, time continues to flow and they all explode.

My Geass is the most useful when the matter is combat, different from Zero's 'The King', who is very useful outside the combat. I hear him giving some final orders and I know what it means: the time to destroy Calares has come.

I join Zero, Urabe, Orpheus and the guy called Suzaku in our way to the lower levels when something appeared: a group of Edinburgs, the mass-production Knightmare from the Eden Vital Order. What they are doing here when the authority of dealing with a terrorist attack belongs to the viceroy? I have no idea.

There is a Hadrons Cannon is the chest of Zero's Vincent and he manages to destroy two of the eight Edinburgs. Urabe cuts one before it can even reacts, but other try to get him from his back and Orpheus use his grenade launcher to destroy it before it gets Urabe. Suzaku is fighting in a Sutherland, but he is giving a hard time to his opponent until he destroys it with his Stun Tonfa. Zero got his double MVS and joined them into a double lance and gives combat to the Edinburg that seems to be the leader. One of them crosses my way, but I avoid him and I use the Needle Blazer in my elbow, destroying the cockpit of the enemy. Urabe jumps in the wall and use the advantage of the movement to cut the head of the Edinburg with his Revolver Sword, while Orpheus gets a weapon that looks like a scissor to cut the arm and to scratch the chest of the enemy, only to destroy it with his fist.

Zero and the leader are fighting against each other in a close duel, but Suzaku appears from nowhere and kicks the enemy's side, slowing it enough for Zero put his blade through the cockpit and we can all see the blood coming out of it. The combat is finished with just a few minutes, but it was quite violent.

"What happened?" I can hear Euphemia calling from the communicator.

"We had some saint company, but we dealt with them."

"Saint? Do you mean that the Eden Vital is here?"

"Let's think about it later! E1, get ready to blow the building at any second now!"

_**Calares**_

"They exploded the building!"

As one of the officials say this, I can see multiple explosions coming from the Babel Tower and the whole place falls apart. So the monkeys chose to commit suicide instead of facing my justice? I smile for a second before I notice what is going to happen.

All the units inside the building will be destroyed and their pilots, killed, that is for sure. The main problem is that the building is going to fall right at me!

How could this be possible? Who could lead those terrorists so well to the point that they can not only defeat all our troops, but also kill me? A person comes to my mind, but this is impossible! He died a year ago in the Black Rebellion, so how could this...

My last thought before the building collapses up me is that my name will be in disgrace as a man that had failed to defeat some terrorist. The building smashes the G-1 base and the darkness comes at me before I can even fell pain.

_**Guilford**_

This is a mess! Viceroy Calares is dead, smashed by the fall of Babel Tower and even the sub-viceroy was killed! The command room is a confusion as I enter it with the Glaston Knights behind me.

"Now is not the time for panic! I will take over the command! This isn't a usurpation of power, but a temporary measure." As soon as I finish this, they all agree with my measures. "Bart, we need..."

The monitor behind me turns on and a man appears on it: Zero!

"I am Zero!" This can't be possible! "To all Japanese, I am back! Hear me Britannia! Behold all of you with power and those who practice injustice! I am saddened to see how the world is right now."

Zero is back? Could he really be the real one? It must be, since no one else could create a plan to both kill the viceroy and to escape from that place.

_**Lelouch**_

"The world hadn't changed a bit since my absence! I had no other choice besides getting back!" Zero speaks in the television inside my personal room.

"He is really back, hum?" A.A says to me in our room.

"Seems like a certain cardinal will need to give me some explanations about this."

"I agree."

_**Marrybell**_

"As song as the strong continue to pursue the weak, I must continue my fight! Just now I have killed Viceroy Calares for his sins!"

"So he really killed Calares?" My personal Knight, Oldrin Zevon, asks me.

"I don't doubt it, if he really is Zero."

_**Guilford**_

"Sir, we found the signal's location! It's coming from the Chinese Embassy!"

The Chinese? How did he... I see, he used the fallen building as a bridge to the embassy. The Chinese Federation and Zero are allies from the very beginning?

"I will fight until the very end of this way, until Britannia has paid for its sins! Therefore, I once declare the creation of the United States of Japan! A country where discrimination will be a crime and anyone can be part of it, no matter they religion, race or country!"

This will have consequences in the future and I doubt that he is kidding about fighting to the end. I just hope that he can be stopped before that.

**10 August, 2012 A.T.B**

_**Lelouch**_

"You three will be sent to Area 11 with the new viceroy to ensure her safeness, do you understand, my Rounds?" I say to the three people on their knees.

"Yes, your Highness!" Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three.

"Yes, your Highness!" Anya Alstrein, Knight of Six.

"I will make sure that I kill Zero, your Highness!" Kallen Stadfelt, Knight of Seven.

* * *

_Hey guys, here is the author and I want to ask you all a favor: can anyone do images for some characters for me? I would be really happy if anyone could and I will give the person the credits for it here._

_For now these are the Characters that I need:_

_A.A: She is tall and has a blond hair that goes almost to the floor and she wears aristocratic clothes. She is one of the vilains, so she needs to have an evil air, but an arrogant one as well.  
_

_Prophet His description can be found in the Stage 24.  
_

_Michael Steinburg: It is the same appearence from the one in Colorless Memories( I asked the permission to use it from  
_

_Nikolai Orelov: A Russian guy that has some resemblances to a huge bear in his height and forms. He has a blond hair and a moustache. Youcan look for him in the net, since there is a character of Assassins Creed with its name.  
_

_You can send the images to my talk page in wiki/User_talk:CaioOP1985_


	28. Turn 03: Uncertain Allies

**Turn 03:**

**Uncertain Allies**

**28 September, 2017 A.T.B**

_**Kallen Kouzuki**_

I fell my face in the floor as I land on it and the taste of blood fill my mouth. I try to get up, but the restraining clothes that the army put on me make it a little harder than it should as I can't use my arms. I hear footsteps and I look at a door with my face stick on the floor and I see him: Lucian!

It takes some seconds to notice that he is, in fact, Lelouch, the man so similar to Lucian. They only share physical similarities, but the look that they give to people is so different as ice and fire. This man's eyes are filled with some kind of scorn, like I am some kind of dirty in his boots.

Together with him are two people: a female with blonde hair down to the floor and with green eyes that look like emeralds and one masked man with clothes that resemble a little the ones from a noble and a hood covering his head. I can't see his eyes, but I feel some sort of aura of power around him, like he is some kind of deity.

"So, how was the trip?" Lelouch asks me.

"Go fuck yourself!" The trip was horrible, just for you to know.

"What a bad little girl. You should show more respect to the Emperor of Britannia, you know?" The woman says.

"He could be God himself that I would still treat him like dirty!"

"Your..." The 'emperor' kicks my belly and I lose all the air inside my lungs. "You will understand how low you..."

"Enough." The masked one says with a voice that is just a whisper, but is filled with calm and authority. In an unwillingly way, Lelouch stops and steps away, showing who really has the power inside this room. "You know fully well that we need her."

"I still don't understand what an Eleven can provide to us."

"Be patient, your Majesty, and you will discover how useful this woman can be to us." The masked one says.

"And in the end I will really become the ruler of this world?"

"Exactly. All you need to do is to use all the tools at your disposal, all in order to fulfill your wish."

"Don't worry, my Emperor, the Prophet knows the future and he will make sure to help us." The woman says to Lelouch.

"And why would you do it?"

"My only purpose in life is to insure that the future goes as it was predicted. If this future is the world's domination by you, then I must help you."

"Very well. But what exactly are you going to do with her?"

"You will soon see."

The masked man gets on his knees and I can see his eyes through his mask. The second I see his eyes, confusion and fear fill my chest as I see it, as I recognize this color. This is impossible! This man can't be with the likes of Lelouch!

"You do not need to worry, my dear girl. You won't be able to remember about your loves, friends or even your old life. For now on, you will live to serve the Emperor and you will get a whole new life." A bird like sigil appear in both his eyes. "Now sleep as Kallen Kouzuki and reborn as Kallen Stadfelt."

I start to see all my memories in front of me: the student council, the Black Knights and my life as a resistance member. Soon I start to ask who were those people and I try to fight against this thing, but it is stronger than my will. Suzaku, Milly, Rivalz, Shirley, Alice, Emily... they are all gone. Lucian appears in my mind and I fight harder to not forget him, but the despair is at the maximum when I forget his name.

Who was he? I can't forget about him of all people, because he... why I can't forget about him?

"She is fighting against it." A woman speaks next to me.

"It is useless."

I start to see my whole life, like a huge flashback: my life spent in the Homeland as the Stadfelt's heir, our arrival in Area 11 because of my father's businesses and the school. The destruction of Ashford Academy by Zero and his Black Knights. The most important thing is the hate that I feel for this man, the one who calls himself Zero.

**08 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Kallen Stadfelt**_

Another Panzer-Hummel appears before my Guren Album, my personal Knightmare Frame. This unit that I posses was used during the Black Rebellion by one of the best pilots of the Black Knights, but this person is dead now.

I must say that it is an amazing frame, even if it was created by mere numbers and not by Britannians. The reason that I use it is to get a little revenge for what the Black Knights did with... I must not think about it. Every time I remember their faces, tears start to fill my eyes and end up remembering Zero.

Because of that distraction, the European Union mass produced Knightmare almost gets me, only almost. I use the special weapon of my frame, the Radiation Wave, to turn it into a giant blob made of hot steel and it soon explodes. More of those irritating things appear in front of me, so I get my MV knife and I give combat to the enemies. I have the advantage here, since those Panzers aren't meant to hand-to-hand combat, while my Guren is made for it.

I jump to avoid the first wave of bullets and I land on one of them, destroying it with radiation. The next one I destroy with my knife, cutting its right arm and its cockpit. I use my waist-mounted Slash Harkens to destroy two more of them, but they don't stop to appear.

I activate my Wing System to get away from them by air, achieving my wish. Next I decide to use one of my most powerful weapons: the Hadrons Cannon inbuilt in my right arm. The blast of dark energy is so strong that it sends the Guren back a little, but it destroys all the enemies with a single blow.

"Good work, Lady Stadfelt." I can hear Prince Schneizel in the communicator. "With this, Portugal finally becomes part of Area 21."

Portugal was the last bastion that the Atlantic Europe had to defend themselves, but now it belongs to the Empire. With this, the E.U has only a quarter of its original territory before the war and they can't afford this conflict for much longer. Even the capital, Paris, was defeated by Prince Schneizel and turned into an Area.

**09 August, 2018 A.T.B**

I enter the common room of the Rounds to rest a little after this full day of work. I had to fill papers because of the victory against Portugal, because I am a Round and everything, and the Emperor himself complimented me for the victory, which makes me proud. I noticed that he was distant and thoughtful, but I think that anyone would be if they had to take care of almost half the world.

The second I enter the room, I fell someone embracing me from behind, but I was already expecting this. When I look who it is, I see my... okay, my boyfriend, Gino Weinberg, holding me. He seems to love contact with other human beings as much as he loves to pilot a Knightmare.

"How were you in Europe?"

"Fine, just some scratches in the Guren, but nothing else."

"I knew you could face it."

"Yes, but you were worried all the time that she wasn't here." A girl with two pink ponytails appears.

"Hi to you Anya."

"Hello." The girl gives me a rare smile, but it soon disappears. "This one was almost going to Europe by himself."

"No, I wasn't!" He says with a blush.

"Hey, big hero, I can take care of myself, you know?"

"I know that you can! It was just to be sure."

Most people would think that I only approached Gino because of his family's name, but I am not this type of woman. Telling you the truth, it took some time before I accepted to go out with him and only after a lot of refuses.

"So the "White Dragon of Britannia" is back, hum?" Nonette Enneagram, the Knight of Nine, appears before me.

"It is good to see you as well, Lady Nonette."

"Yeah, yeah. So Europe is almost ours, right?"

"Seems like it. Now we just need to press what remains of the E.U and the African Republic and the world will be ours."

"Emperor Lelouch surely is active, right? Only one year after his ascension to the throne and we almost have Europe and more than half of Africa." Gino says.

"And I heard that a plan to take the Chinese Federation is being made." Anya comments.

"Wow! Does he plans to take the whole world?" Gino says with admiration.

"That is what our ancestors wanted."

The world belonging to Britannia... this is really a world that I would like to see. With Zero gone, there is nothing that can spoil this world...

"We have a problem." Monica Kruszewski, the Knight of Twelve, says from a couch while looking at the television of the room.

The second I look at it, all my feelings of hate and sorrow come to the surface. Zero is there, announcing the world about his return and his intentions of destroying Britannia. This is impossible! He can't be alive now, not after all that he did to innocent people!

"Kallen..." Gino says to me when Zero finishes his speech and the screen goes black.

I am probably showing my emotions right now with my face, but I do not care. All that I care now is with one thing only: bring down Zero!

_**Zero**_

"The Embassy of the Chinese Federation is completely surrounded by the military forces lead by Acting Viceroy Guilford, so we must not fear the Black Knights. They are inside parts of the embassy now and Zero hadn't showed himself since the transmission to the whole world about his intentions."

The world is now in confusion after my return as the 'Black Knight of Justice' and this is good. As long as they fear the menace of Zero, I can move forward with my plan. The news continue as I sit on the couch of the room given to me by the High Eunuch after my 'request' for help. Urabe knocks the door and I let him go inside, taking off my mask.

"So how are the place that they gave to us?"

"Very good, considering that they weren't expecting us. Sometimes, Geass can be very useful, right?" He says to me, picking a pistol from his back. "Sorry, but I must know one thing, Zero."

"And that is?"

"Did you used your power to manipulate any of the Japanese or members of the Black Knights?"

"No, I didn't."

"How can I trust you in that matter?"

"Urabe, do you really think, from the bottom of your hearth, that I would do it?"

"I... do not."

"Then you have your answer. I can assure you that I never used my power on my allies before."

"Then..."

"What about this? I will use it on you now and, if I do something that goes against what you believe, you can finish me off."

"What?"

"My Geass can only be used one time on each person, so it won't affect you anymore after I use it on you today. What do you think?"

He does not say anything, but he bows his head, showing his answer. I tell him to jump three times with my power and after he finishes it, he looks confused.

"When are you going to use it?"

"Already did."

"What? When..."

"The person that I use it forgets about it. I told you to jump three times."

"I see... then I don't need to have any fear towards you."

"It wasn't necessary before and it isn't now."

"Yeah... listen, there is another thing that you should know by now..."

"What it is?"

"One year ago... a new Knight of Seven appeared in Britannia and... well... I don't know how to say it to you..."

"What do you mean?"

"The Emperor has a Geass, right?"

"Yes, he has one. Urabe, what are you..."

"Kallen is the Knight of Seven!"

Wait just a second here... Kallen? The same Kallen that used to be our comrade? How could... Lelouch! if this is true, he must be the one that... but how he would know about our relation? I was defeated and broken by him when he sent me to Russia, so he had no reason to make her his slave!

"Why anyone told me this earlier?" I say with a bit of anger in my voice.

"Because... no one was brave enough to tell you..."

"NO ONE WAS? OH SURE, A FORMER COMRADE TURNS INTO AN ENEMY AND NO ONE IS 'BRAVE ENOUGH' TO TELL ME? WHAT KIND OF COWARDS YOU ALL ARE? AND TO MAKE THINGS WORST, IT HAD TO BE HER OF ALL PEOPLE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT A DISASTER COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF SHE WAS AROUND HERE AND WE HAD TO FIGHT HER?"

"I..."

"I SWEAR TO GOD THAT I WILL KILL ANYONE THAT CONCEALS INFORMATION OF ANY KIND FROM ME! I AM IMPRESSED THAT YOU DIDN'T THOUGHT ABOUT WARNING ME THAT SHE IS WITH BRITANNIA."

I continue to yell at him for some time before all my anger is gone and I sit on the couch, breathing heavily. I need to clear my mind if I do not want to start screaming again. God, how could they hide this from me? And using a pathetic excuse!

"Do I need to know about anyone else? Like Tohdoh or...?"

"Only Kallen, that I know. The rest is under arrest here in Japan."

Okay, so I need a plan to save them from prison, but I will need a lot more things before I can handle this. With the siege outside, there is no way that I can get out easily, besides using a underground tunnel that goes to a warehouse, according to the plans that the Chinese gave to me. But before I do it, I need to take care of something first.

"Urabe, call everyone that knows about Geass and my face."

He leaves the room to do what I demanded, leaving me with only my thoughts and feelings. I am tired with all those nights without sleeping, but I can't sleep even if I want. The nightmares are getting worse and I can only get a few hours of rest since Euphie saved me.

This is my penitence for my sins: continuing moving forward with this whole thing, no matter how it will end. If I had not started this, Emily and Alice...

"They are here." Urabe says, letting everyone inside the room: Leila Malkal, Akito Hyuuga, Cornelia, Euphemia, Orpheus Zevon, Suzaku, Rai, Nikolai and Urabe himself. Those are my soldiers, the ones that know about my biggest secret and I need to trust them above the rest, even if I do not want it.

"I have called you all here to ask something of great importance to all of you."

"What it is?" Malkal asks.

"You can't speak of Geass to anyone from outside this room, do you all understand?"

"Why?" Cornelia asks.

"Because it will cause too much damage to the Black Knights if they discover about my power. If we want to defeat Lelouch, I can't allow to have discordance and distrust inside my ranks."

"And how we can trust you?" Hyuuga asks me.

"You all don't have much of a choice. Besides, I swore that I hadn't used it in anyone inside this room." I look at Urabe and he understands the meaning. "This will have to suffice."

"This is really convenient, right? We should trust you, a terrorist, in order to defeat Lelouch? I still don't see why we can't tell any..." Cornelia argues.

"Also, anyone from the outside can be a traitor, not by choice, but by force. Shall I remember that our enemy has Geass as well?"

"And how do we know that he hadn't used it on you, of all people?"

"He used, but it doesn't means so much."

"Doesn't means? What exactly he did to you?"

Instead of answering with words, I get up and I get my pistol from my back. I point it to my own head and I get ready to fire, with Suzaku, Rai and Urabe getting up to stop me, but they are too slow. I hit the trigger and the bullets pass five centimeters above my head.

"Lelouch ordered me to 'live'. That is my curse, as well as my gift. While I am alive, I can't 'die', so you all don't need to worry about a treason coming from me."

They all just stare at me, without a word being said. They must be wondering why I have this command on me, but I won't ever tell them about the reason. Their faces appear before me, but I try to get them away from my head. I have enough troubles now to worry about this.

"That is all. You can all retire yourselves." They all start to move out, some leaving more time than others, but in the end I am all alone in the room.

I hadn't got the chance to talk with Suzaku, but I will eventually. That guy passed through a lot so far and I need to talk with him properly. For now, let's see if I can get some sleep time without visiting the past.

******10 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Suzaku**_

"Where am I?"

I look around, but there is no one here. I walk for some time, but I do not find anyone or anything at all. This is making me annoyed, but I finally find a door in this long and white corridor. I enter in the next room, but it is the same as the last: white and plain.

I continue to walk into several other rooms, but they are all the same as the last, but if I stop I will never get out of here. I need to get out, but I do not know why or even if I have to do it quickly. I have my reasons to be here, but I forgot them all and all that matters is to get out of here.

After a time that seemed infinite, I find something different: a sword encrusted in the floor. It has a golden handle, incrusted with rubies, and the blade is so white and clean that I can see myself on it.

"Draw me!"

The sword is talking! How can this...?

"Draw me out! You need me to save what matters!"

"What do you mean?"

"Hurry! It is getting closer!"

Suddenly, I can feel something coming from the rooms that I have just passed. Something powerful is here and I just know that the sword is the only thing that can help me in defeating it.

"You do not have time! Draw me out of here!"

I grab the sword and I try to get it from the floor, but all my efforts are in vain. I continue to pull the weapon, but it does not come out of the hard floor. I start to get desperate.

"You are not ready yet! You need to get stronger!"

"How?"

"You will understand when the time comes!"

A wind comes from the open door and I can fell a chill down my spine when I look at the door. Where was white, now is black and I can fell the darkness coming out of there, too terrible that I just freeze, unable to move an inch. From the door a silhouette appears, but I can only see its eyes bearing the Geass symbol.

* * *

I wake up covered in cold sweat and breathing heavily. It was a nightmare, just a simple nightmare. I sit on the corner of the bed and I fell the wind coming inside the room from a window that opened with the wind. I get out of the bed to close it, being very careful to not wake up Euphie.

After I close it, I look at her sleeping peacefully in the shared bed. Even sleeping, she is so beautiful as any goddess should be. I see that the blanket has uncovered her naked body and I feel my face blushing. I know that I shouldn't feel this after what we did before falling asleep...

I cover her with it and she moves in her sleep. I hope that she is getting better dreams than me now, but I bet that she is. I get out of the bed and I go to the bathroom to wash my face. After the Black Rebellion, I am barely able to sleep a good night because of that kind of dreams, which are getting more frequent.

I look at myself in the mirror and I see that I have changed since last year. Not my face itself, but my look. An year ago, I could see heat and happiness, but these are gone by now and it has got harder and colder than before.

I think once more if those dreams have some meaning, but I am too afraid to really know. I could talk with Lucian about it, but I just can't do it with him now. He just spent a year in a Russian prison, so I will leave this talk to the future.

_**Zero**_

The wine is good, I must say. I had another nightmare and I woke up in the middle of the night, again. Wine helps me to sleep without dreaming, I discovered this in the prison, so I always had a way to get some alcohol. The funny fact is that I was trying to kill myself with an overdose, but my curse prevented me from it, so I could drink as much as I wanted that I wouldn't die.

Wine, vodka, beer or anything with alcohol was fine with me as long as I had not to dream in my sleep. This all ended when Rai discovered where my hideout was and he got rid of all of it, stating that I would end up with cancer in the liver. The thing is: I was trying to get this.

Now I cannot afford to get drunk, even if I really want to. I have to lead the Black Knights to the destruction of Britannia, or I will not be able to live with myself any longer. If I lose myself along the way, their sacrifices will be all in vain.

**12 August, 2018 A.T.B**

I haven't found a way to save everyone from prison and I am not making any improvement on this. They raised the security of the prison where they all are to prevent us from breaking inside and the Army has the embassy surrounded by men, making it difficult to move around that much. There is the underground tunnel, but I prefer to use it only in an emergency.

What should I do now? I can not leave them, but I do not have the resources to save them either. I am in the corner of the board, surrounded by enemies and without a way out.

"So you are Zero." A young man enters the room and I can see that he is not part of the Black Knights, but the Chinese Federation. He has a long black hair, brown eyes and carries a sword wherever he goes. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"And you are?"

"Li Xingke, the bodyguard of the Consul."

"But you aren't just this, right?"

"You are good at seeing things, Zero. Can I sit?"

"The house is yours anyway." He sits in front of me, still looking at me. "Can I help you with something?"

"Not now, but maybe in the future. I am here to tell you that we were able to delay your arrest for a week, but nothing more than this."

"I am grateful, but how did you managed to do it?"

"Killing the Consul." This is unexpected.

"And why would you do something like that?"

"He was a worm in the form of a man, a coward that thought that he was above everyone else. I had to kill him."

"So you did justice? I'm not going to say anything, since these are exactly my thoughts about such people."

"Thanks, but I had to tell the High Command that the Black Knights killed him when he ordered an attack to you all."

"Not that I care that much. And what are the orders from above?"

"They wanted to get rid of him as well, so they didn't complained that much."

"I see... then I have a week?"

"Exactly."

"This doesn't help me in the other subject."

"And that is?"

"Rescue my comrades from prison."

"Hum... I don't know what to say about this."

A member of the Black Knights appear with a scared face and tells me to turn in the television. I turn it on and I understand his fears: Guilford just announced to the world that he will execute the Black Knights if I do not appear before him for a duel. This is... perfect!

_**Tohdoh**_

It has been some hours since Britannia moved us from this place to be publically executed. All the people that fought in the Black Rebellion will perish, unless Zero appears. Zero... I wonder if you are the real one and what happened to you during this year that we spent under arrest?

"Hey, the Zero that appeared is the real one, right?" I can hear Tamaki at my right,

"Who knows?" Ohgi answers him.

"He'll probably abandon us." Chiba answers him, showing how much she trusts Zero.

I trust Zero, so I know that he will come, no matter what happens. General Katase died believing in him, so I must do it as well. This is the least that I can do, but it gets harder by each day and this might end tomorrow.

* * *

The time of the execution has come and there is a crowd in front of the execution site and I can see some Knightmares in the Embassy, staring at us from the distance. They cannot do anything or they will be killed in the spot, so I am praying fro Zero. He is the only one that will not be killed right away, but now I can see that all hope is almost gone.

"Like I thought, a traitor." Chiba says.

"He'll come! I know that he will!" Tamaki screams with tears. "He'll create a miracle!"

I was called "Tohdoh of the Miracles" once, but now I am powerless to save my comrades and brothers-in-arms. Zero, if you are going to save us, them do it quickly! I hear the people watching us, all of them Japanese, crying to Zero for a miracle, but he is not here.

"Elevens! The Zero that you believed did not appeared! He was just a liar pretending to be the original one!"

The machine guns are pointed to us and I lose all hope. If he would save us, then he would already be here. I hear Tamaki screaming in denial and Ohgi accepting his fate. I close my eyes and I wait for the end.

"You are wrong, Guilford." This voice... Zero! "You are not executing terrorist, but members of the United States of Japan's Army."

"You want us to acknowledge them as prisoners of war?" Guilford asks him.

Zero is using a Britannian Knightmare, a black one that looks similar to the Lancelot. He is moving it with the cockpit opened, so I can clearly see him standing there. He really came, after all.

"Could you come out for a little talk, Guilford?"

"I prefer to use my Gloucester to talk, Zero."

"This is just like you." He enters the place and the doors close behind him, leaving no way out for him. "So be it, but we must create some rules before doing it."

"Very well."

"First, it will be only the two of us, no one else."

"Understood."

"Second, only one weapon will be allowed to each one." Guilford Throws away his assault rifle and his MV Swords, leaving only the lance with him. "I came unarmed, so I will need that you give that to me."

A shield to contain riots? What is he thinking? I know that he is an astonishing pilot, but he can't win with just that! Could be... that he plans to commit suicide to let us go?

"Third, if you are defeated, all my Black Knights can go without harm."

"You have my word." They get in position for the unbalanced duel.

"Let me ask you something, Lord Guilford. Suppose that an evil that justice cannot bring down? Would you taint your hands with evil to destroy the evil? Or would you carry your own justice and succumb to the evil?" A contradiction? Why he is playing word games now?

"My justice lies with my princess!" Guilford moves forward, attacking Zero in his Knightmare.

"Very well." He defend himself with the shield and the duel begins.

This is a match fated to be the last of Zero. There is no way he can win with that shield against Guilford's lance, as I already know. They start a dance, with Guilford always in the offensive and Zero in the defensive. Guilford tries to hit him again with the lance, but Zero jumps to avoid the attack and lands the shield in Guilford's Knightmare, smashing it a little but not causing real damage. After some time the shield starts to get deformed until Guilford pierces it and Zero loses his only 'weapon'.

Zero moves to the gap created to separate the Chinese Embassy to where we are and he gets there, waiting. Guilford moves to strike him directly and Zero continues where he is standing. If he does not move now, he will not be able to avoid the hit!

That is when it happens: Zero do a spin with his Knightmare in the last available second, with the lance almost passing his Knightmare. Sparks come out where the lance cuts the Knightmare, but no damage is caused to Zero. As for Guilford, he continues moving and he falls in the gap, since he couldn't stop before reaching it due to Zero sudden movement.

A cockpit appears flying from it and I can hear an explosion coming from the gap. This movement was insane and the chances that he could really do it... Zero is really amazing!

"I defeated your commander and now I will get my compatriots from you."

"I don't think so, Zero." The Gloucesters and other Knightmares surround him. "You will perish here, just like those Elevens!"

"And that is the real face of Britannia: a liar that cannot fulfill its promises! To answer the question that I made: I will become evil itself if it gets me near my goal, and it starts now!"

The earth starts to shake.

_**Suzaku**_

"Everyone, move forward and give Zero support!" I say to all the Black Knights ready to move.

"Yes, Captain!" Zero nominated me the Captain of the Zero Guard, not that this matters that much now.

It is strange to call him Zero, as he wants, and not Lucian. He says that Lucian is dead and buried and now only Zero remains, but I doubt it a little. He just does not want to be Lucian now.

"Black Knights!" I can hear him talking to us. "The enemy is inside our territory now! Go and save our compatriots!"

There are people already getting the ones trapped out while the rest of us fight against Britannia in our Knightmares. Using the structure of the place to create an advantage, again... I must admit how stupid they were for not seeing this coming at them.

I am also impressed with Zero escaping the blow in the last second, but I know how he was able to do it: his "curse" allows him to sharpen his reflexes and to get a boast in his physical performance. My hearth almost stopped when he just stood there without moving, but he managed to avoid it. I see a Gloucester destroying one of our Burais and I decide to give him combat in the Radiation Wave Gekka given to me.

"Britannian, you are entering Japanese territory now!"

"Japan does not exist!" He tries to use his missiles against me, but I dodge them all and I get within his reach. "Now die!"

He fires his missiles again, but I use my own Geass, the one that Luc... Zero calls "The Shield". I trained it during this year and now it can expands to whatever I am touching, including a Knightmare. The missiles just explodes on me as the shield protects me, allowing me to grab the head of the enemy.

"You lost the second I got close to you." I activate the radiation and the enemy explodes in front of me.

We continue to fight the Britannians inside the territory that "belongs" to us. After some time, the man from the Federation, Li Xingke, tells them to stop any actions towards us or there will be consequences. The start to leave as the Black Knights start to celebrate Zero's victory.

* * *

"Guys!" I move towards them as I get out of my Knightmare. "It is good to see you all well!"

"Same here, Suzaku!" Ohgi speaks with a great smile.

"We are free! Zero is the best!" Tamaki pass an arm in my head, happy.

Zero gets out of his Vincent and everyone yell his name loud. He is more than our leader, but the very symbol of what hope and justice are. Still, those nightmares are troubling me and spoiling my happiness to see everyone all right.

For now, I will celebrate, but an uncertain future lies ahead of us. What kind of dangers we are going to face? What is the enemy that I need to face to "save what matters"? I do not know, but I will discover it, for the sake of those that I care for.


	29. Turn 04: Inhumanity

**Turn 04:**

**Inhumanity**

**12 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Zero**_

"They really know how to be noisy, I must admit."

I am inside the office given to me by the Federation while the rescued members of the Black Knights are commemorating their release. My reaction after a year of prison was not that animated, since I was not willing to go out, but it heats my hearth to hear them all like that.

They are putting away their prisoner's uniform and throwing them away, getting only in underwear (the women are not included on that). I allow myself to relax for the first time since yesterday, when they announced the execution, closing my eyes to rest just for some seconds.

As usual, I did not sleep last night, in part for the dreams and in part for the Black Knights being held to be executed. I have the strange feeling that I am getting used to the fault of sleep, so I am not getting too worried now, like I was before.

In addition to that, I am gaining a better control over my "curse", the one put in me by Lelouch. I bet that he never thought that I could get free, otherwise he would have me killed and this is his worst mistake. The same thing that brought an end to... _their_ lives will help in ending Lelouch's and this is not an appeaser, but it eases the pain inside my hearth.

The had not announced the new viceroy of Area 11 and I think that no one will sign for this position on free will, not that it matters to Lelouch and his Geass. He is probably in Pendragon now, scheming with her "friend", the woman. Her identity remains a mystery to me, but she helped him in what happened to _them_ an year ago and she must pay for what she did to me.

Now that the Black Knights are free, I need to think carefully about my next movement before the week that Xingke got for me ends. The next viceroy will arrive in three days, probably, and I need to do something about it before he arrives here.

It is going to be probably a member of the Royal Family or a noble, but not a normal one. The new one will have to face Zero, so he needs to be a skilled tactician, used to the military life and with experience of it as well. Presently, few people can fit into these conditions, as the Royal Family is lazy and unprepared to deal with any matter more complicated than to ask more tea.

Odysseus eu Britannia, the first prince, is mediocre, without any real ambitions or ability to make decisions on his own; Guinevere su Britannia, first princess, can only think about mirrors and herself; Carine ne Britannia, fifth princess, is a stupid girl that only wants war and violence all the time, making a dangerous choice to do.

That leaves only three people from the Royal Family and I look for them in my computer, finding her easily with the intelligence network from the Federation. I see the identical faces of my two half-brothers, Castor rui Britannia and Pollux rui Britannia, together with my half-sister, Marrybell mel Britannia.

Marrybell... I remember the last time that I found myself against her unit, the Glinda Knights, in Russia. That time I had to flee with the tail between the legs, but now I have my own Knights to face her. She is the most likely to be sent here, since Castor and Pollux are busy in Europe, leading armies against the E.U.

If Marrybell arrives in Japan, I will have to deal with the Glinda Knights, as well as some Knight of Round, probably sent to help the new viceroy against Zero. Knowing Lelouch, the one that will be deployed will be... Kallen.

To think of Kallen as an enemy is... wrong. She is, or used to be, my most loyal soldier, besides from Suzaku, and now I must fight her, unless I free her from those chains that the Emperor put on her. Kallen... I lost all the women that I once loved, but I swear to God or anyone that can listen to my thoughts that I will release you, no matter what!

_**Suzaku**_

Everyone shows joy as they change their clothes into the uniform of the Black Knights. I know how they are feeling as they put it, because I felt the same thing before, four days ago, when Zero rescued me with some of the people in Babel Tower.

Some of those people have joined us, but they lack training and discipline, so we will need to refines them into real warriors, if we want to face Britannia on equal terms. This is so... strange to think, considering that, one year ago, I was fighting against those people, but fate is a strange thing.

"Suzaku." Tohdoh appears before me, already changed into his new uniform, one that will be used by the core members. "Urabe told me about what happened to you. How are you holding up?"

"Pretty well, actually. It wasn't so bad, considering what they used to do with other people."

"Sorry about it."

"No worries."

"Also... Urabe told me about Kouzuki."

"Oh..."

What can I say to him? Luci... Zero told us to keep silence about Geass from the rest of the Black Knights, but I do not know what to say to Tohdoh now. The truth is complicated, but I hate lying to him about this. What should I do?

"It's Zero!"

Zero appears from the doors leading inside with his new uniform. Telling you the truth, it just changed the color of the clothes to a light purple instead of the darker one from before, so it is new, but it is not. All the Black Knights praise him when they notice his entry, but it does not mean that everyone is happy.

"Wait!" Chiba moves forward, taking the word. "I am grateful for what you did to us, but why you would appear here, one year after you abandoned us?"

"I didn't."

"What?"

"I never abandoned you all. I was captured by Britannia in my attempt to bring down Lelouch, as some of you might remember."

"And where have you been?"

"I was imprisoned by the enemy, in a place that I would never get out again. If it wasn't for our new allies, we would all be locked."

"New allies?" The Black Knights show confusion, replaced by shock when they notice Euphie getting in the garden. "What a Britannian princess is doing here?"

"Euphemia and her sister were the ones who saved me from prison alongside our new comrades."

"What? You are trusting a Britannian here?" Tamaki says with a little bit of anger and I start to move closer to Euphie.

"What of it? Shall I remember you all that I am Britannian? And what about Diethard? Do you all consider us enemies?"

"You are different, but a princess is just a dog of Britannia!" More voices join in.

"May I speak?" Euphie steps front and everyone stop talking. "I know that you must hate me, but I've cut any links that I had with Britannia and I will fight with all my forces to help the Black..."

She cannot finish her sentence because of a rock that flies in her head's direction. I start to push everyone in my way, but I will never get there on time, but I do not need to. Zero goes ahead and grabs the rock in the middle of the air, saving Euphie. Sometimes, just sometimes, I am grateful about his augmentations.

"Enough! I won't tolerate any aggression towards her! She is the reason why we are all free now, so I want you all to treat her with, at least, the respect that she deserves!"

"Zero is right." Urabe goes to Zero's side. "Euphemia gathered us after the Black Rebellion and lead us to where Zero was being kept. She is a true ally to our cause."

With Urabe speaking, everyone calm down a lot. I can see that a lot of them show regret in their faces, some even shame, but mostly disbelief. I can understand them, but if she gets hurt because of one of them...

"Understood, Zero-_sama_." Tohdoh goes at where Zero and the rest are. "What will be our course of action?"

"It is uncertain for now. We don't know who will be the next viceroy or how Britannia will respond to this. Considering the new Emperor madness, nothing is out of consideration."

"Zero, there is something that I must ask to you: what happened to Kallen? How could she become a Round?" Ohgi asks him.

"I don't know, Ohgi." I can see Urabe giving him a fast look, but anyone noticed, besides the ones who know about Geass. "I have a theory, thought."

"And what it is?"

"Somehow, Britannia must found a way to control her: menaces, blackmail, psychological control. Nothing can be really discarded, even mind control."

"Do you mean..."

"We need to save her from herself, before she causes even more damage to us or to innocent people. I know that is hard for all of you, but you need, for the time being, to think of her as an enemy."

Everyone starts talking at the same time after this declaration. So he did not discarded the possibility of mind control, so he can fin an explanation about what must had happened to Kallen. This is a smart movement, I have to agree.

After that, the rest of the new members present themselves: Orpheus Zevon, a quiet and serious young man; Leila Malkal, a woman that looks reliable, I guess; Akito Hyuuga, a guy that is even more mysterious than Orpheus; Nikolai Orelov, a noisy man that is in his forties; Rai Cranston, the man that was with Zero in Babel Tower. I already know of all of them, but I must pay attention the same way, since I am the leader of Zero's personal guard and it is my duty to protect him, not that I would not do it already.

Zero dismiss us to get some rest and some men from the Chinese Federation appear to show them where they can stay for the night. I go to Euphie and I hug her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Zero protected me."

"That was stupid, showing yourself so quickly."

"Yeah, Zero said that when he shielded me."

We continue to talk until we arrive in our room: it is not so big, but I do not have complains and, when I asked Euphie, she said that this is good compared to some places that she and the Black Knights were hidden before. She gets inside and we continue to talk until I remember something that is bothering me for some time since we were recued.

"Euphie, can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"How did you all discovered where Zero was? No one could really tell if he was even alive."

"I don't really know. Someone told us where the place was."

"Someone?"

"I don't know who, but the location and the plants of the prison were sent to us."

"How they were sent?"

"That is the strange part: they just appeared in our hideout, like all the other things."

"Weren't you all worried about it?"

"In the beginning, yes. The thing is: this mysterious contributor also helped us with other things like: hideouts, Knightmares, data and intelligence."

"And you all never knew who he was?"

"No, I'm afraid that we didn't. But we were cautious with those "presents" and we always checked them and they were for real."

"You told Zero about this?"

"Yes and he decided to think about it later. I bet that he is thinking on it right now."

A mysterious benefactor... who this person or group might be? What they gain in helping a broken group like the Black Knights? Could be that they have some occult reason for it, like gaining advantage over us? If that is the case, why they do not show themselves now that we are recovered?

I remember my dream and a chill goes down my spine. I have a really bad feeling about it, but I do not say anything to Euphie, keeping these worries for myself.

_**The Prophet**_

"So Zero rescued his comrades?"

"Yes, your Sanctity!"

"Leave me."

The acolyte leaves the room after I dispense him, leaving myself with my own thoughts. Now Lucian has all the men necessary to continue his rebellion against Britannia and Lelouch is going to answer this with brute force. I heard that he is sending three Rounds with his sister, Marrybell mel Britannia, to Area 11.

The choice of the Rounds worries me a little: Gino Weinberg is immature and thinks of everything as a game, but he can get serious in some situations; Anya Alstrein is the youngest Knight of Round, but the one that will accept any order given to her; the last choice I can agree with, the love of Lucian's life, Kallen Stadfelt, a person that Lucian will be reluctant to fight against.

All these poor souls do not even know that they are mere paws in the board now and they are being used for the ascension of the Dark King. Soon, the world will be on chaos and the Clash of Kings will start, with the White King opposing the Dark King. I cannot allow the White King to win, or centuries of preparations will be in vain.

"Call me Michael." I tell over the telephone to my secretary.

The young man arrives some time after my call, efficient as always. He is quite young for a Knight and he has blond hair and brown eyes that would get him any woman in the world, but he says that he is married with duty, at least for now. Together with Salvatore, he is the only one that knows of the full plan for the rise of the Dark King and about my identity.

"You called, your Holiness?"

"How are the preparations for the arrival at Area 11?"

"They are almost complete and Marrybell already asked the Order for my help."

"This will be granted, so do not worry about it." I sit in my chair, taking off my mask to let my face breath for some time. "Remember the reason why you will be there."

"To watch Lucian and his Black Knights as they continue their rebellion."

"Exactly." I start to cough and I see blood in my hand. "I do not have much time."

"Sir, if there is anything that I can do to ease your pain, you just have to ask."

"Michael, you are a loyal man and you are of extremely importance to our goal. The best you for you to ease my pain is to assure me that you will give the Dark King all the aid that you gave to me over those years."

"I swear for my family's name, my Lord." He says, getting on his knees and putting his right arm over his hearth, the sign of a Knight's obedience.

"What would I do without you, my Knight? Without you special abilities of infiltration, I doubt that the Black Knights would have got so far as they did."

"It was nothing, your Holiness. All I had to do was to put some papers inside their hideouts..." He stops talking and disappears in the air when an acolyte opens the door.

"Sorry, I wasn't aware that you..." A red line appears in his throat and blood starts to get out from it. The man grabs it, trying to make the flow stops, but he dies seconds later.

"Frankly, I will have to clean this mess now, Michael."

"Sorry." He appears again with his Geass, "The Illusionist", turned on and cleaning the blade of his knife. "This is the fastest way to deal with troubles before they can spread."

"I know." I sigh, thinking how old my body is now and remembering how I was in the past. "You can go now and keep an eye on Marrybell. I know how much you care for her and her personal Knight."

"I..." I laugh at his red face.

"Sometimes I wish that I could have more time to see the world that we are creating, a world of true peace."

"I know, my Lord. I will leave you now."

I am getting tired of all of this planning and murder after a life serving the Order and for the glory of the Dark King. I will not live long enough to see his ascension, but I will rest in peace knowing that I did the difference.

For most people, knowing how you will die can be the heaviest burden, but not for me. Since I was born, I knew that my life would end at the hands of the 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, but I accepted this fate long ago and I am ready to face it, all for the achievement of my goal.

**13 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Zero**_

Shirley is there, looking for me in her white dress and straw hat. She looks even more beautiful than she was alive, with light coming out of her like she is an angel. She starts to move away from me, but I cannot move from where I am and I can only watch as she moves away in Mao's direction. He has a mad face and is pointing a shotgun to Shirley while C.C is embracing him from behind. He fires at Shirley and I can only see her disappearing in front of me, leaving me with blood in my hands as C.C tells me that it is all my fault.

* * *

Once more, I wake up covered in sweat and panting as I find out that it was a dream, again. My back hurts as I get out of the armchair that I felt asleep and I go to the bathroom.

Below the shower and with hot water in my face, my head starts to get clean and my thought in order. I do not have a second to rest, even inside my dreams, and I enjoy the feeling provided by the water.

I get out of the bathroom and I put my Zeros clothes again, the only kind of clothe that I have now, besides some disguises that I can wear in emergencies. Lucian is dead and buried, so I do not need a great variety to wear, but I can almost hear Milly complaining to me about this.

Milly... It is been some time since she crossed my mind as I try to not remember anyone. She told me that she loved me before dyeing and I felt guilt as I could not even give her an answer before the life left her body. Before I can stop it, all the memories from Ashford enter my mind: Rivalz and me gambling in chess, Nina talking about theories, Shirley in a swimming competition, Arthur playing with Emily...

I put my back in the wall and I go the floor, grabbing my head as tears fill my eyes and start to go down my face. They are all dead because of me, because of who I decided to be and there is anything that I can do to change it. I sob and cry without control, trying to get them away from my mind and trying to forgive myself for those sins, but each task is unsuccessful.

_**Kallen Stadfelt**_

I look to the watch one more time and I see that only ten minutes passed since the last time that I looked on it. Gino is sleeping hugging me from behind, but even his presence cannot comfort my thoughts. I get out of the bed, trying to let him with his dreams, but he wakes up regardless my efforts.

"Hey, why are you awake?"

"I cannot sleep with my head like that."

"Worried about our mission in Area 11?"

"Not worried, but..." He gets up and hug me again, making my face goes red. "Hey!"

"You know that I will always listen to anything that you want, right?"

"I know, but it is just... I don't know what I am feeling about going back after..."

"I know what Zero did to your friends and we will make him pay for it. I can promise you this, Kallen."

His eyes are filled with such kindness that I cannot resist and I kiss him. Before I know about it, I am getting his clothes off and he is doing the same with me and I get on top of him, moving my body as he closes those beautiful eyes. I can feel the pleasure in my whole body and I can see that he felt it too.

"Thanks." I say to him, embracing his body once more.

"You are welcome."

I love him, but I have this feeling that I did something wrong, like I should not have sex with my boyfriend. My father would be pleased with the fact that I am close to the Weinberg family and my mother is in a hospital, too sick to even care for me. I do not have someone to tell me that this is wrong, so why do I have this feeling?

An image appears in my mind, blurred and misty: a person that looks like a man with dark hair. Seeing it fills my chest with a strange feeling, like I lost something really important. I do not know who that man is, but I cannot stop this feeling as much as I try, but I never saw him, so how can I fell guilty when I remember his "ghost person".

Gino is awake, but I will not tell him about this, fearing that he might get sad when he discovers that I remember other man every time we make love. For the time being, I must not tell this to anyone else.

_**Zero**_

"Zero-_sama_!" One of the Black Knights on watch salutes me when I pass him.

"I can't sleep, so I will just walk around the embassy a little." I tell him and he nods.

The part where the Black Knights are is filled with our guards and with some of Xingke's own guards, so it must be safe for us, at least for now. I walk to the same garden that I met the Black Knights after this year and I see that another person cannot sleep as well: Leila Malkal.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hello for you too, Zero-_sama_."

"_Sama_?"

"Isn't this how you treat someone with respect in Japan?"

"Yes, but you are not Japanese, so..."

"I am surrounded by them, so I think that I should treat them all in the proper way."

"You are an interesting person, you know that?"

"Yes, I know. Anyway, what are _you _doing here at this time?"

"I asked you first."

"I can't sleep and I like to watch the stars."

"Same here."

"Well, then join me if you want."

We just stare at the stars together, without a word being said by us and the stars as our witnesses. Leila Malkal was a Lieutenant Colonel of the E.U before joining the Black Knights, or so it says in her archives from the Chinese Federation. What could make a person like her join people like us?

"Is there any chance that you are wondering why I joined the Black Knights?"

"How do you know?"

"It's easy, even if you don't say anything. I just need to read your silence."

"And you can tell what I am thinking?"

"Just sometimes, because I need to see the face of the person that I am analyzing, but you use a mask, turning this task into something a little more difficult, but sometimes is easy to read you."

"I need to fix this, in case I find an enemy."

"Don't worry about it, it is just because I know your true face and some secrets of yours. Even if someone has the same skill as me, they won't be able to read you as easy as I am doing now."

"I see... then you can ask the initial question: why you joined us?"

"Do you know about the war development in Europe?"

"I've got an update after my release."

"So you know that the E.U is almost gone and all the resistance against Britannia is useless now. The government is gone, the Army is on chaos and no one can stop the advance of Schneizel and the Twin Demons, Castor and Polux."

"I know of that already."

"I was adopted, you know? Of course you know, you are from the cautious kind of person. I was supposed to marry one of my stepbrothers, but..."

I see doubt in her eyes and I see something that I already know well: some kind of sorrow disguised of something else. She has some secret that causes guilt on her, but she does not want to face it, so she hides it deep inside her hearth. How strange fate is to send a person like her to a man like me.

"He... disappeared and my other brothers are gone by now. During the final attempt to maintain Paris, my whole unit was swiped away, leaving only three of us to tell the story. Britannia didn't spared even the scientific team and I lost one of my best friends that day."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I think that this might be a punishment for my sins." She looks at me and I see her purple eyes, carried with sadness. "I lead a special unit made of Japanese, but we were more like a _kamikaze _unit, acting in mission with the lowest survival rates and the Japanese paid the price for it, not the Europeans!"

"This is normal for those who consider themselves superior to others: use people like they are objects and them thrown them away like garbage."

"We had a mission where every person from the squad died, except for one of them. More joined us, but when Britannia finally got to Paris, we were simply destroyed by them. I saw all the men and women under my command dying and I couldn't do anything to stop Britannia."

"You..."

"That is one of the reasons why I joined the Black Knights: to take revenge against Britannia for what they did to those who I cared for!"

"Revenge... them my fight is meaningless." She looks at me confused. "If people continue to think like this way, a world of peace cannot be created, not today and not tomorrow, but never. If people don't change their minds, this infinite cycle will never break and humanity will continue to struggle against each other, unable to create a world of justice."

"And you are using this same hate against Britannia to achieve your goals?"

"No, I simply showed people that they don't need to suffer oppression by others and they need to fight against this world in order to achieve this very dream. Inside the Black Knights I have mostly Japanese, but I also have Britannians, Chinese, Europeans and even some Africans. I created an organization where it doesn't matter your ideology, your religion of where you were born, just what you believe in. If you believe that we can change this world to a better place, them you are welcome among our ranks, but I will not tolerate the Black Knights oppressing someone just because they have a different way to see the world. I am a Britannian myself and I don't care about who you all are, as long as you can bring results and help us."

"You know..." She gives me a warm smile. "This is the other reason why I joined your Knights."

"What do you mean?"

"When you appeared for the first time, telling the whole world about your responsibility in the murder of Prince Clovis and when you told the world about the Black Knights, I was astonished by you. A single man stood up against an empire that controlled a third of the world and I could only think about his stupidity. As you fought Britannia over and over, always finding a way to fight back, never giving up, I think that I started to hope for your victory. When I heard that you were defeated and executed, I had the feeling that Europe could never fight Britannia."

"And why is that?"

"Because if a man like you can lose against their power, then no one else can. I lost almost all hope of defeating Britannia and the death of all those men and women are my fault, because I..."

"No. You refused to lose hope, even if your mind lost the hope, your hearth told you to never stop fighting back and even now, with those that you said that were dear to you dead, you continue to rise and I know that you will rise again if you fall once more."

"You just had one real conversation with me and you already know that much?"

"I can fell it, Malkal."

"Leila. You can cal me... Leila."

"Leila..." I feel the word inside my mouth and I start to fell something that I lost a long time ago, but I refuse this thought, like he is some kind of mortal disease. "I'll remember."

"Thanks, Zero-_sa_..."

"You don't need to use _sama _with me if you don't want to. Just call me Zero."

"Yes sir."

I leave the garden after some time and I use the computer to look for information regardless Leila and her unit, but I do not find anything. They must had been a secret group inside the military, so it is understandable. She said that her unit was like a _kamikaze _group, so I guess that the public would never know about this, neither do the Chinese.

I look for the people that came with her and I see that Akito Hyuuga, the guy with the Alexander Knightmare, and a girl called Ayano Kosaka were the ones from Leila's unit, based on what she told me. Japanese... just expected to be used as pawns without any will and do what is said to them without a question. This is the reality of this world, the very reality that I want to change, for the sake of those who are dead.

Leila carries her own demons inside her hearth, but they are not as big as my own sins. She suffers from the death of comrades, but my suffer comes from deaths caused by my own hands. I can still fell the smell of the blood and the felling when I was hitting meat and breaking bones when Lelouch got me in Kamine Island.

Lelouch brought to much suffer with his existence and falls to me to correct this mistake. The worst thing is how much fate can be twisted: I imagine what would had happened if I was the one that stayed and Lelouch the one who was sent. Could be that I would be the one that killed his own mother in order to gain power? That slaughter innocent people without a second thought?

Lelouch and me are twins, so he is the exactly same thing as me, only with different creations. The funny things is that I am the same as him: I have killed before and I felt some pleasure by doing it, justifying that it was for justice or some noble reason. How wrong I was for those innocent ideology.

I always thought that I would become a real demon if I just put aside my humanity to fight my enemies, so I tried my best to not do it. Now I am a demon and an inhuman, one that cannot clean his sins. I am tired with fighting with honor or feelings, so I will need to change.

Britannia thinks of me as a demon, so be it. For the utterly destruction of my enemies, I must put aside any feelings or humanity inside me when I face my enemies. For now on, I will not be a human when I lead my comrades and I will not think of them as my comrades, but as my pawns, at least inside the battlefield.

I get up, leaving the rest of humanity behind me. From this moment forward, Lucian vi Britannia is completely dead, death in the day he was born. Lucian Kururugi died in the invasion of Japan with his father. Lucian Lamperouge died during the Black Rebellion when they destroyed his home.

"My name is Zero, the Black Knights of Justice!"


	30. Turn 05: Ghosts From the Past

**Turn 05:**

**Ghosts From the Past**

**14 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Claudio S. Darlton**_

The terrorist activity inside Area 11 is increasing after Zero defeated Lord Guilford and released his Black Knights. Iwate, Wakayama, Tokushima, and even from Yamaguchi, the appearance of this new Zero brought back the Eleven's will to fight! But not just in Area 11, but other Areas are suffering from those rebellions and they are starting to be a pain!

Zero is inspiring this world in the wrong way and we must not allow such a thing. We cannot do anything to stop him now because of Lord Guilford's wounds from his fight against Zero, so the next viceroy must arrive quickly before...

The room trembles and an alarm is turned on: an unknown Knightmare Frame is invading the facility! How could anyone invade the government bureau like this? My brother Edgar and me both go to our Gloucesters to fight against this menace.

As soon as we arrive in the hangar where the invader is, we see a strange kind of Frame: it is not a Knightmare, but more like a military fighter. It is astonishing fast and the Sutherlands are not hitting it, but they are being incapacitated to fight.

"I don't know who you are, but this is the end for you." I say as I put my mask.

"That is a fail." The intruder says. "Your armor is more suited for protection of buildings. Oh well, if that is the case."

The plane starts to change its forms into something different from before: it changes into a real Knightmare this time, with a white, blue and red color scheme. This unit is... the Variable Knightmare Frame, Tristan! This means...

"You are the Knight of Three, Lord Gino Weinberg, am I correct?"

"Yes, and I am here to test you guys." He moves a polearm that the Tristan is carrying and MVS appear from the ends of it.

"As you wish! We will not be able to face this humiliation as well."

I attack him with my lance, but he defends himself with the polearm and I pass through him without a scratch on the Tristan. I try again at the same time as my brother attacks him, but he uses his double blades to defend himself again, but he cut our Gloucesters's heads right away. So this is the power of a Round!

"Stop!" We hear a woman telling us to stop, but we are already in the middle of the attack, but Lord Weinberg defends himself and stops us in our attack. "This fight is already decided."

Kallen Stadfelt, Knight of Seven, appears wearing her well know red cape and walks in our direction. She has an unpleased face and I can really tell that she is not in a good mood.

"Is this your judgment as the Knight of Seven?"

"Yes."

We lost the fight and we have to swallow our pride now! This is humiliating, but at least our opponent was a Round and not some unworthy enemy.

_**Gino**_

"Hey Kallen! How are you, sweetie?"

"Gino, I told you to not do anything stupid, didn't I?"

"Well, I was just trying to relax a little..." I cannot finish my sentence as I fell something hitting my face and I land on the floor in a very unpleasant way.

"This is for you to learn about doing those things." She says above me.

"I don't care about being kicked, as long as it is you the one hurting me."

"Are you a masochist?"

"No, I am just in love!"

I get up now and I start to fell blood inside my mouth, so I can tell that this will really hurt later, but I do not care about such a thing in the moment. Kallen is here, so I am happy with it and I see another Knightmare appearing: it has a dark red and light red scheme and it is massive if you compare it with my Tristan. The presence of the Morderd can only means one things: Anya came for the party as well.

"Over?" She asks from inside her personal frame.

"Kallen says that it is over."

"Boring." I bet all the wealth of the Weinberg Family that she picked her phone journal and it is using it right now.

With three Knight of Rounds here, Viceroy Marrybell is going to be extra safe from any harm and not even Zero can hurt her in that way. According to the reports, his Knightmares are Burais, basically Glascows recycled, and those Gekkas that he used last year. None of his frames can outmatch the ones with us or the Glinda Knights, so she will not need to worry about anything related to security.

Not that she really needs to worry, that Marrybell. Unlike her sisters and brothers, she is kind when it is necessary, but tough and serious at battles. She lead the anti-terrorists unit for almost a year and terrorism decreased a lot since she started her function, but there is another thing about her. She really cares about people, Numbers or not, and she is loved in every place that she goes, an example of person.

If it was me the one to choose the next Emperor, it would be her to sit in the throne. She might be the one who will create a correct world... and people like Hinata will...

No! I cannot think about her now! Even after all those years, it hurts a lot thinking about it, my only sin. If I had never told father about it, she would never had suffered the way...

Kallen notices my change and asks for its reason, so I give her a smile and hug her from behind, like I always do to hide my true feelings. That way she cannot see my face, but she know me better than this and notices that something is not right, but she keeps silent. I love Kallen now and I do not want her to know about a past relationship, even one like that.

_**Leila**_

The day is sunny as yesterday, so I get out to enjoy the sun a little before the meeting. The core members of the Black Knights will discuss our course of action for when the new Viceroy arrives tomorrow. I look at the sky for a second and I see that it is blue and clean, different from the last time that I saw it with Zero.

I can fell a little of heat in my face as I remember what we talked yesterday. I never told anyone about what happened in Paris, but I just opened myself yesterday, like I knew him for a long time. It was also good to hear him giving me a private speech, one that no one will hear.

Zero is a Britannian prince, but he refused to accept such a role and fought against his own country. I do not know the reason for his fight, but I can see that his hate is deep and that is the type of person that you can rely on, exactly what I need now.

"What are you thinking?" Akito Hyuuga, former Lieutenant of the E.U and one of the survivors of the former W-0 unit, appears before me.

"Nothing important. How rare of you to get out to the sun like that."

"Sometimes I do it, but only sometimes." Akito were never close to people, but since Paris, he is even more distant from human beings. "You are going to attend the meeting, right?"

"Yes, and so do you."

"Is this an order?"

"I can't tell you what to do now. I am not your commander anymore, did you forgot?"

"Just habit. Anyway, I will get on my way." He starts to leave, but looks back after some steps. "If I were you, I would check on Ayano in her room. I didn't saw her around since we arrived in the embassy and the food that I leave in her door is barely touched."

"Is she still depressed, even after three months?"

"Her most important comrades died right in front of her. Those two were the reason why she was alive and now she lost this. I think that it is really reasonable."

"I know, but..."

"We are at war, that is true. However, we are humans, not machines, and we fell the loss of our comrades, some more than others."

"Do you fell it, Akito? Do you miss Ryo, Yukya, Anna and the others?"

"More than I suggest, I will give you that." He decides to leaves and this time he does not look back.

Ayano... he is right, I should really go and see her. It is true that she did not leave her room, but the food's part is new for me. It is strange for Akito to show such a kindness with anyone, but he can surprise me sometimes. I guess that he is sticking to the promise made to Ryo.

_"Promise me, Hyuuga! Promisse me that you will take care of this girl!" He tries to reach Akito, but his legs are buried under wreckage. _

_"I will." Akito says to him, showing determination._

_"RYO!" A crying Ayano is dragged by Akito to a place where the building is not falling. Right after that, Ryo is covered by the ruins of what used to be a ceiling._

The memories from that day come back at me from time to time, but they still pain deep in my soul. Britannia knew about us, otherwise they would not get to us so quickly like that. Now all that is left are the memories and the pain.

"Ayano? Are you inside?" I knock her door, but she does not answer. In the floor I see a plate with some rice, meat and vegetables, along with a cup covered by a piece of cloth. "Ayano, it's me, Leila."

She continues in her silence, but I insist in checking her, so I continue to knock the door. This cannot continue like that, with her refusing to eat or get out of a room, otherwise Ryo's sacrifice will be in vain. I practically punch the door, but she still does not open it for me.

"Any problem, Malkal?"

"Orpheus, what are you doing around here?"

"Just walking around. You will be late for the meeting."

"I need to check Ayano first."

"Ayano? Do you mean the vampire girl?"

"Yes, I mean the vampire girl. I can't open this door!" I kick the door, but all that I get is pain.

"If it is important, I can open it for you."

"You can?"

"Are you deaf? I just said..."

"Just open this cursed door already!" I am not in the mood for this.

"Okay." He gets on his knees and start working, moving some metals and stuff in the doorknob, opening it after some time. "Done."

I enter the room, feeling a strange smell that I prefer to not discover from where it is coming. It is dark inside the room, so I press the switch to light the room, only to find dirty clothes all over the floor and Ayano herself in the bed, sleeping.

"Your friend surely is clean." Orpheus says to me.

I go towards the bed and I try to wake her up, feeling really happy when her eyes are open. I see those brown eyes of her and I can see how tired she is, even with all the time she must had sleep. She looks at me for a second, then she covers her head.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Go away! I don't want to talk with you."

"Clean and gentle as a true noble. Who would refuse someone like her."

"Get out of here, Orpheus! You aren't helping!"

"Now that things will get interesting?"

"I told you all to get out of my room!" Ayano yells from her bed. "I don't need any of you! All that I want now is to die!"

"Ayano!"

"Get away from me, Malkal! I don't want to see you close to me even in a hundred meters!"

"Stop this! If you continue like that, you will seriously die from starvation."

"So be it." She tries to cover her head again, but I hold the sheet. "Stop!"

"Ayano, please stop acting like a child!" I hear voices behind me and I see a bunch of Black Knights watching the scene from the door. "You all get out of here! This isn't a movie!"

They do not stop watching the scene at the moment, but Orpheus starts to tell them to leave unless they want to see his ugly side. It works and most of them leave after seeing Orpheus face and his green eyes getting angry. After this, a person appears from the crowd: Akito!

"Leila, Zero and the others are calling you for the meeting."

"Akito, I need to solve this before I can..."

"I TOLD YOU ALL TO LEAV..." Ayano cannot finish her sentence, since Akito slapped her face.

"I will take care of her. You will go to the meeting and Orpheus will teach me how I can open locked doors later. As for Ayano, I will take care of her."

"You won't do..." Again, Akito slaps her face, but on the other side.

"Okay, I leave it to you, Akito."

I start to leave the room with Orpheus on my tail and we close the door (not before Orpheus leaves the food inside, showing that he is not that much of a dick). I hope that Akito can take care of Ayano, for her own sake.

_**Akito**_

I put my hand on the water of the bathtub to check its temperature and it is hot, but not so much. I come back to the room and I find Ayano trying to cover herself with the blanket again.

"The bath is ready."

"Go to hell! I'm not going to..." Before she can say anything, I grab her and I start to put off her clothes. "What are you doing? Your rapist!"

She tries to get away from my reach, but I am stronger than her and I get her naked in no time. I start to drag her to the bath, even with her resistance to me I just put her in the water, ignoring whatever she says about the temperature.

"Stop this, your pervert!"

Ignoring her once more, I start to wash her with a brush and she tries to get out of the bathtub, sending half the water to the floor and over me. It does not matter what she thinks about it, but she will be cleaned, even if she does not want it.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I made a promise with Ryo that I wouldn't let you die."

"I don't care about any promise that you made with..." I get a bowl and I put water over her head and she starts to cough. "Stop it!"

"Only if you stop being so stubborn and either wash yourself or let me do it without getting myself wet."

She stops fighting after that, letting me to wash her body and hair without complications. Her breast is a problem, but I tell her to wash it herself and... that other part.

"What? You already saw everything! What problem will..."

"Just do it yourself!"

After she is decently cleaned, I tell her to get dry and put clothes while I clean her room. It is a complete mess inside, with clothes and things all around the place, but I manage to put everything in the place.

I curse Ryo one more time for what he made me do with that promise when he died. I have to take care of that spoiled girl, even if I want to just choke her to death! She gets out of the bathroom completely dressed with some clothes that she used to wear before entering the E.U's army: a white regatta with a hood and black mini-shorts.

"Now eat. I will be around here to check if you are eating."

"Shouldn't you change your clothes?" I am all wet and I can fell my body shaking a little.

"Eat first and I will change myself. If you don't do it, I will make you."

She starts to eat, but with the speed of a lame turtle, so she is really annoying me. The shaking is getting more violent and I can feel my teeths hitting inside my mouth.

"Use the blanket."

"I'm fine."

"Hell you are! Just cover yourself with that blanket before you die here!"

I could argue telling that covering myself will not get the water away, but I control myself and I just put the thing over my body so she can eat fast and I can leave. After some time, she starts to cry, tears making a way down her face.

"Why? Why are you doing this? You hated Ryo, didn't you? Why are you going on with this joke of a promise?"

"I disliked Ryo, that much is true, but I never hated him, not even once. As for the reason I keep my promise, he was a _nakama_, just like you and Leila." She looks at me, confused. "He laughed at my side, played, lost and we did a lot of things together, even if I never liked him that much. Just like the others that died that day in Paris, he was a person that I knew that I could trust my life and I will miss him as much as you."

"Liar! You never cared about anyone more than yourself! You never show any emotion at all and even do anything to get close to others!"

"And who said that I don't care about those around me?" She looks at me even more surprised than before. "I just move forward, just like they would want from me. I know that it hurts, but stop being a little kid and grown up! You need to live to make sure that their lives were not in vain, you understand?"

"I..."

"Just finish your meal." I get up and I start to leave. "I will be waiting for you outside, so finish it and get some sun before it ends."

I leave her alone to make her think about all that was said to her. She is only sixteen, but this is a cruel world that she decided to take part in, so she needs to be ready to fight. I will go with my promise until the end, but that does not mean that I will drag her around like a scared cat, so she must recover, or she will be devoured.

_**Rai**_

"Sorry for the wait, Zero-_sama_." Leila Malkal opens the door and enters the meeting room.

"Don't worry about it, just take a seat for yourself." Zero points to an empty chair and Leila sits, completing the ones taking the strategic meeting.

Inside the room the people who command the Black Knights are about to decide which will be our strategy. The core members are here: Suzaku Kururugi, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, Nagisa Chiba, Shogo Asahina, Kosetsu Urabe, Ryoga Senba, Kaname Ohgi, Kent Sugiyama, Shinciro Tamaki and Yoshitaka Minami. From the new members, there are myself, Leila Malkal, Nikolai Orelov, Euphemia li Britannia and Cornelia li Britannia.

"Zero, before we start, I would like to do one thing."

"What it is, Ohgi?"

"I... would like to point the death of two comrades... Inoue and Naomi..."

Zero does not says anything, but I know how he is thinking now, probably about those two people. It was not a secret their deaths, but no one seemed to be talking about it until now to not turn it "real". The core members react differently to this news, but no one speaks for at least a minute or two.

"May their deaths not be in vain." Zero says, breaking the silence. "Sorry, but now we need to discuss what we are going to do about the new Viceroy's arrival"

"I agree." Tohdoh says. "We must deal with this before we can do anything..."

"Wait Colonel!" The one called Chiba says. "Before we start, I would like to ask what are _they _doing here?" She points to the newcomers, including me.

"They all have proved their loyalties and abilities to be here, Chiba."

"Sorry, Zero, but I still don't understand what two Britannian princesses are..."

"We discussed this when you all were rescued, didn't we? As for the rest of them, I granted my permission to be here due to their skills."

"But are you sure about their loyalty to us?"

"Yes, I am. Now let's move to more important questions, shall we?" No one interrupts him, so he continue. "I believe that the Viceroy will be Marrybell mel Britannia, the 88th Princess."

"And why is that?" Minami asks.

"The Viceroy will have to be skilled in tactics, since I am back, and there is just her available to be possibly able to face me."

"If you say so." Tamaki agrees with Zero. Seems like the core members think of Zero's abilities of great value and they do not question him.

"So, you are saying that, if we deal with her quickly, we might be able to strength our position?"

"Precise as always, Tohdoh. We must get the new Viceroy fast and put aside the danger that she represents."

"Is she going to get hurt?" Euphemia asks him, worried.

"I prefer not. If we got her, we might hold Britannia and Schneizel, at least for a time before they strike us again."

"She is Schneizel's favorite sister and his protégée." Cornelia adds.

"So this is a reason to strike her fast, but we don't have enouch power now and we also don't have a way to build new Knightmares." Ohgi says.

"Rakshata told us that the Military District of India is going to manufacture a new model for us." Minami complements.

"Yes, but we don't have a way to bring them inside Japan in secret for now. Ever since Kyoto was executed, we don't have a big sponsor."

"You are right Kururugi, but we can't just stay inside the embassy and wait for a chance." Senba gives his opinion.

"May I talk?" I raise my hand and wait for silence.

"Of course. Go ahead, Rai."

"I think that, if we don't have the power to take her when she lands, we should take her in her way here."

"How?" The annoying guy, Tamaki, looks at me like I am stupid. "The girl will be here by air and we can't get to a plane with a submarine."

"Even if Rakshata arrives with it, anyway." Asahina complements.

"I never said that we should use the submarine, but we can do it another way."

"Come on, who is going to listen to a rookie like..." Tamaki starts to say, but he is interrupted by Zero.

"Tell us your plan, Rai."

"I see that the Black Knights still have some VTOL Gunships that we got during the Black Rebellion. Ten, to be more precise."

"And what about it?"

"To put it simple: we carry some of our best pilots with them, secure the airships and someone enters the Ship and get Marrybell out of there."

"Oh, this is the stupidest thing..."

"Rai, Britannia created a terrible enemy when they put you in that prison." Zero says to me.

**15 August, 2018 A.T.B**

_**Kallen**_

"They left the place?" I ask the man that is attending us in front of the Chinese embassy, a long-haired man with brown eyes.

"That is right. They left using the underground tunnel that goes under the building."

"And you just let them?" Gino asks him with a bit of anger.

"They left without any warn."

"They got away even with our watch over them. You have to say that they are smart." Anya says without putting her eyes out of her phone.

"Do you have any idea to where they could have gone?"

"I don't have this kind of information. With this, can you all believe that the Chinese Federation doesn't have ill intentions with Britannia?"

Zero just tricked us, again! How could he just slip away like that? What could make him...

"The Viceroy!"

_**Oldrin**_

We are almost getting to our destiny: Area 11, the rebel colony of Britannia. The call for Princess Marrybell to be the new Viceroy got the Glinda Knights by surprise and she agreed with it, as long as she could get some independence to act. The Glinda Knights will be there to support her in any possible way, as well as the Camelot Proigram, three Rounds and...

"Princess, may I have a second?" My hearth starts to go really fats when I hear the voice of my friend and former comrade, Michael Steinberg.

"Of course, Michael. Also, refer to me as Marrybell or Mary."

"Y-yes! Anyway, we should be almost in Area 11, so I think that I should tell you that everything is complete for our land there."

"Thanks Michael." She gives him a smile. "It's been some time since we saw you. Oldrin, why don't you show him around and point what changed in the ship?"

"M-me? O-oh... of course..." I think that I am blushing, but I got what she meant. "T-this way... Michael!"

He follows me and I point him some changes in the ship's interior, but he used to be part of us, so there is not that much to show him. We end up talking and(thank you so much, God) I do not forgot how to use words any time. His eyes are so gentle that any girl probably want to have him with them.

"We all miss you so much here in the Glinda Knights."

"I also miss you all, but I have bigger duties now."

"Like being the bodyguard of a High Cardinal? Honestly, I never thought that you would enter a religious order."

"What can I say? It's the call of God."

"Sure... anyway, if one day you think that you want to come back..."

"Sorry, but I can't. I have some... other responsibilities now."

"Oh... I see..."

"Besides, I don't know if I am worthy of coming back."

"What do you mean?"

"Secret."

"Hey! I am the only one that you aren't allowed to keep secrets from."

"Orders from the High Cardinal."

High Cardinal, the one called "The Prophet" because of his previsions of the future and Michael's boss. Michael never ever kept a secret from me, even when we were children, now he is doing it with me and this started since he entered the order as a Knight.

Michael changed when he entered the Eden Vital Order: he became more quiet and reclusive, denying to meet me or the members of the Glinda, his old friends, because the Prophet keeps him busy all the time. There is also a new sadness inside him now, one that I cannot find from where it comes from.

"Michael, are you sure that you are alright? I mean..."

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. It'll be over soon, I hope." Again, she looks away from me, like when she is really sad about something.

"Michael..." An alarm starts to sound in the _Grandberry_, our _Caerleon_-class ship. I start to talk by the communicator with one of my oldest friend and an operator of the _Grandberry_, Toto Thompson. "What is wrong?"

"The Black Knights! They are carrying Knightmares with VTOL Gunships and are coming in our way!"

"So they came right at us, right?" Michael says, listening to me.

"I am coming to the Grail!" I start to run to my personal Frame.

"Oldrin... there's also another thing..."

"What's wrong?"

"One of the Knightmares is... the Byakuen."

_**Orpheus**_

"Alright everyone, let's take care of this fast! The enemy has Knightmares as well, so let's all be careful!" Tohdoh tells everyone from the Communicator.

This plan is quite simple and it has a genius air around it: no one would ever think that we would attack them by air, leaving space to more maneuvers. Now that they noticed us, they are sending VTOLs to fight us, but a colored smoked is released, confusing the enemy.

"Okay, you are all free to act. Be careful out there." The Deputy Commander talk to us.

"Thanks Ohgi." Tohdoh says to him, releasing the restrains in his Gekka and jumping in the airship and destroy one turret in the act. All the Knightmares are released in the main ship and the scouts, so we detonate the explosives in the smoke, destroying the air units on it.

The simplicity of the plan is incredible, but it is sophisticated at the same time. We are aiming in the float units that maintain the scouts in the air, so they cannot attack or turn off their shields, or they will be destroyed.

Just after some time, the Knightmares in the scouts destroy the floating units and they land on the _Granberry _safely. For this mission, only the best pilots were chose: me, Hyuuga, Kururugi, Tohdoh and his Four Holy Swords, Sumeragi or Cranston (he is uncertain about which one) and Orelov. Tohdoh and the Swords are using Gekkas, Akito his Alexander, Suzaku a modified Gekka with a Radiation Wave device and Sumeragi and Orelov those new models, the Vincent.

Things start to get pretty intense when the Sutherlands from the Glinda Knights start to come to the outside to give us combat, but we answer them with fire. I use my cannon inbuilt in my 7-Type Integrated Armament Right Arm to destroy some of them while the Holy Swords start a battle against others.

This is not the real challenge here and soon we will have to face the real Glinda Knights, including my sister, Oldrin Zevon. I do not have any feeling towards her, a completely unknown for me some months ago when we first met, so I will not have any problems in fighting her. I just have to think of the demon and it appears from the interior of the airship with her frame, the Lancelot Grail.

"Orpheus!" She comes in my direction, but I can see that she does not want to fight me. "Please, stop all the aggressions before it is too late!"

"It's not my call." We look at each other, waiting for the first move. "I'm just a pawn here."

"Please, I don't want to fight my own brother!"

"Your brother died the day he was bourn, I'm not him, Oldrin!"

"I'm begging you!"

I let my actions to tell her my answer and I attack with the cannon, but she avoids it and goes to the offensive. She clearly does not want to fight me and I will use it to my advantage. I Join the two Irregular Blades and I form a Combined Blade and I defend myself from the blow of her two Schroeder Steel Swords, trying to counter her afterwards, but she avoids me.

Her biggest mistake is to have doubts while I do not have such things in my head and this might be her death. My family died the day my "uncle" did a special job for the Geass Order and Euria died. For that day forward, I swore to "live", despite my sorrow and I will avenge her, no matter who get in my way, even my "sister".

_**Akito**_

A Hadrons Blast comes in my direction, but I avoid it with my quadruped mode. Looking at the responsible for it, I see a black and red Knightmare, the same that destroyed some of our men back in Russia: the Zetland. He fires again at me with the Hadrons Cannon and I avoid it again pretty easily, since the pilots is trying to not damage the airship, something that I can use to my advantage.

I approach it while I continue to avoid his blasts, probably the only weapon that he has in that thing. The Zetland is a Knightmare to be on the rear line giving support, not made to be in the frontlines, so against a unit that is made to perform hand-to-hand combat, he is useless. I start to feel it, my special "power", so I just let it turn on.

"DIE!"

I GET THE TWO TONFAS AND I MOVE TO HIT ITS HEAD WITHOUT MERCY, BUT THAT FUCKER ACTIVATES A SHIELD AROUND ITS FUCKING FRAME, TOO COWARD TO FACE ME IN REAL BATTLE. I CONTINUE T STRIKE HIM, TRYING TO BREAK THE SHIELD, BUT THE ONLY REAL THING THAT I GET IS TO STOP HIS DAWN BLASTS! I NEED TO KILL HIM, I MUST KILL HIM, OT THIS WILL NOT BE FUN AT ALL!

"Mind if I join you?" ANOTHER SHITHEAD APPEARS IN A FLYING KNIGHTMARE, THE ONE CALLED "BRADFORD", BUT THIS DOES NOT MATTER WHILE I DO NOT KILL THIS BASTARD INSIDE THE ZETLAND. "Hey, I'm your enemy now!"

HE STARTS TO FIRE AT ME WITH THAT "FORTRESS MODE" OF HIS, BUT I AVOID EVERY BULLET AND I AM READY FOR MORE! FINALLY DECIDING TO BE A MAN, THE ZETLAND TRIES TO FIRE AT ME AGAIN, BUT I WAS WAITING FR IT SINCE THE FUCKING BEGGINING, SO I HIT MY RIGHT TONFA IN ITS SHIELD GENERATOR, DESTROYING THAT SHIT INTO PIECES AND I START TO HIT THE REST OF IT MERCYLESS.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" WITH EVERY HIT, I SCREAM AGAIN THAT WORD!

"What's wrong with this..." THE FUCKHED CANNOT FINISH HIS SENTENCE BECAUSE THAT GUY, RAI SOMETHING, IS GIVEN HIM COMBAT IN THE AIR, SINCE HIS VINCENT IS THE ONLY KNIGHTMARE THAT HAS A FLOATING SYSTEM.

THE ZETLAND IS ALMOST TOTTALY CRUSHED NOW AND I JUST NEED TO GIVE HIM A FINAL BLOW TO END THE LIFE OF THIS BASTARD. BEFORE I CAN HIT IT, ANOTHE KNIGHTMARE APPEARS AND DEFENDS THE FALLEN ONE: IT LOOKS LIKE THE OLD LANCELOT, BUT WITH A BLUE AND WHITE SCHEME AND A RIDICULOUS HORN IN ITS HEAD.

"Tink, use the Ejection System of the Zetland, now!" ONLY A COWARD SUGGESTS OTHER SOLDIER TO FLEE!

"Sorry about the trouble, Michael." THE MOTHERFUCKER SCAPES! NOW THIS LANCELOT WILL PAY FOR TAKING THAT KILL FROM ME!

I TRY TO HIT HIM, BUT THAT FUCKING UNIT IS TOO FAST AND IT CUTS THE ARM OF MY ALEXANDER. I TRY TO GAIN SPACE FROM HIM, BUT IT JOINS ITS BLADES INTO A TWO-BLADE LANCE AND CONTINUES TO ATTACK ME WITH HIGH SPEED. EVEN THE ENCHANCED MANEUVERITY OF MY FRAME IS GETTING TROUBLES AGAINST THIS GUY. MY FRAME'S LEG IS CUT AS WELL AND I HIT THE FLOOR, LEAVING AN OPENING FROM A COUNTERATTACK FROM THIS SON OF A BITCH!

"So that's how it ends, hum?" I return to my normal self in time to see the blade descending in my cockpit's direction.

Out of nowhere, a blue Gekka appears and stops the strike with its Revolver Sword. I recognize it as the frame been used by Suzaku Kururugi and he tells me to escape while I have the chance, something that I agree, despite that little part that tells me to continue there to kill the newcomer.

As I fall in the direction of the ocean, I try to count how is the battle going there and I can see that it is going well for our side. Orpheus Zevon is facing a red Lancelot, while Suzaku and Rai face each one's enemy, leaving just...

I see something coming from the horizon and I try to reach the others before it is too late. The radio communicator of the Alexander is damaged, so I cannot warn them about the approach of newcomers: the Knights of Round! It is better Zero do whatever he has to do fast, or we will be slaughtered!

_**Marrybell**_

"There's something wrong here."

"What do you mean, your Highness?" Toto Thompson, one of Oldrin's best friends and an operator of the _Grandberry_ asks me.

"Zero always fight alongside his troops, but I can't see the frame that he was using to face Guilford during the Black Knight's release."

"Maybe he changed his Knightmare?"

"Or maybe he entered the ship while his comrades were fighting?" A male voice speaks behind me and I turn around to find the man himself, Zero! "Looks like I got you without warning, Princess Marrybell."

He has Sokia Scerpa, one of the pilots of the Glinda Knights, as his hostage, so that must explain how he could get to the command room without been harmed. He must be really strong to hold her like that, even with all the resistance against him, Sokia cannot escape from him.

"Sorry, your Highness."

"Don't worry about it." I try to calm her, but I doubt that it made much effect, considering the arm around her neck. "So you are Zero?"

"Correct and I must demand you to cease all hostilities against the Black Knights or there will be consequences."

"What kind of consequences?"

"First I will kill this girl here and after that... maybe blow the whole airship apart."

"What? How would you..."

"I have explosives planted in the float units of this ship, so I suggest that you cease all animosities now."

I hear all the operators holding their breaths as they hear this and considering the person who said it, I can imagine what they are thinking now. I need to be strong if I want to deal with Zero, like Schneizel and now is probably the best time to make my own proposal to him.

"Before you do anything like that, please hear me."

"I don't have to do it, so let's just..."

"I'm planning to re-establish the SAZ." He shows his surprise by weakening the grasp in Sokia, giving her the opportunity to escape and to kick his stomach. "Sokia, wait! I need to talk with him!"

"A very dirty trick, princess." He gets up like the kick was nothing. "Saying something like that just to surprise me."

"I am serious about it. That's why I asked to be the next Viceroy."

"You asked? Why?"

"Because I want to accomplish Euphemia's wish to unite all people... and also Lady Marianne's."

"Marianne was a murderer that killed innocent Japanese people without remorse and she deserved to die for that."

"I know what you think... but this time will be different, I swear to you. All you have to do is to help me and tell your Black Knights to stand aside before..." An alarm rings and I see that three units are approaching the _Grandberry_ and this is the worst time for it to happen! "Someone tell the Rounds to wait for my orders!"

Not now that I am talking with Zero! If they do not stop, the Black Knights will be killed, ending an conversation that I could have with their leader. The Rounds start to defeat one after another and the Black Knights leave the ship with their Ejection Systems. It all ended up in a few minutes, all thanks to the 8th generation Knightmares used by the Rounds.

I look at Zero and he watches as his comrades fall one after another and now he is the only one in the ship, alone against all of us. Even if he do have put explosives, it is meaningless now without any ally to back him up.

"I'm sorry Zero... but you are arrested for terrorism and constipation against Britannia. I must ask you to not detonate the explosives."

"It was a bluff. It doesn't make sense to continue with it now that my allies are defeated." Guns are pointed at him and I have him under custody.

_**Suzaku**_

I am falling in the direction of the ocean as the Ejection System of my Gekka is not responding, not that I am that worried about it, since I can escape death with my Geass, but I need to get another Knightmare and go save Zero! The Rounds appeared out of nothing and obliterated us with ease and now Zero is inside that ship without anyone to support him!

There must be something that I can do to save my own brother! Could be that those strange dreams are right and I do not have the power to save what matters? I need to go there now, before I lose another person dear to me!

"Shit!"

"Look the tongue boy, or I might change my mind about giving you the present." A familiar face appears in my screen.

"Rakshata!"

"Yes, it's me. Have you been reading the manual of that little toy?"

"The Conquista? Yes, but..."

"So I will need you to put those bracelets in your arms and legs and that you jump out of the cockpit in the air."

"What? But that way I..."

"Just do it boy!"

I still have my reserves to that plan, but I do what she says and I leave the cockpit and I fell the air in my hair as I start to fall. I can see the remains of the Gekka falling with me as well, but I see the old submarine used by the Black Knights in the sea below us too. As I look at it, something is launched by the torpedoes launcher, but it isn't a missile, but... a Knightmare!

It is black and blue and it is flying in my directions, meaning that it is my new frame: the Lancelot Conquista! I try to control myself in the air as it approaches me and it aligns with me, leaving an opportunity to enter its cockpit.

Okay, if I remember it well, the basics are almost the same as the previous Lancelot, only with some adds. I start to move it in the direction of the Rounds, ready to pay them back for what they did to us.

"So you are back hum? Ready for another..." The transformable Knightmare's pilot start to talk, but I join my new VARIS Rifle with the cannon above the cockpit and I launch a long-ranged Radiation Wave at him and his comrades, including... Kallen.

I must think of her as my enemy if I want to save Zero, so... I must defeat her if I need to, even if it costs her life! They all avoid the blast, but I continue moving forward, activating the Conical Shield that my new Frame can create and passing them with ease. After I pass them, I launch another new weapon at my enemies: the Gefjun Launcher, a Gefjun Breaker just like the one in Zevon's Byakuen, but this one can be launched at the enemy.

After the Rounds are out of combat, I start to scan for the transmitter in Zero's mask and I find him right at the middle of the airship. He was caught by the enemy and the only way to get him is...

I turn on the Conical Shield again and I start to pass through the ship, destroying everything in my way until I reach him being scouted by some soldiers. I ignore the soldiers and I just grab him and start to leave the place with him.

"Are you alright?" I ask him in the hands of the Lancelot.

"We just lost here, Suzaku." I can fell the disappointment in his voice. "Once more I let myself be distracted by my emotions and this cost the whole operation!"

"There will be a next time."

"Yes, there will. But this wasn't a total loss."

"What do you mean?" I ask at the second we enter the submarine and it starts to submerge.

"My dear sister Marrybell just gave me an idea that will give us the perfect excuse to reform ourselves and get strong enough to face Britannia straight ahead. Now all that we need to do is to agree with her little plan, but changing it to our conveniences."

"And what is her plan?"

"The recreation of the SAZ."

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_Hey everyone, here's the author telling you all to check on my profile page to see something that may give someone a rize! It's not so much, but it's something at least and if you are interested, send me a private message, please!_


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